Dad Knows Best

It was December 21st, and the Smith family had just arrived at their chalet. Mr. Smith had booked a wonderful ski vacation for a week, up in Canada, for his wife and three kids. They planed to spend Christmas in the chalet, while skiing, skating, and doing other winter activities. Mrs. Smith had not skied in over 10 years. However, she used to ski competitively when she was growing up. Mr. and Mrs. Smith thought it would be a great opportunity to teach their kids something new, as well as a fun family activity. The three kids; Ethan (16), Katie (14), and Isaac (13), were very active kids. They all enjoyed playing basketball, baseball, and soccer as recreation sports at home. They were all excited to try skiing for the first time, given they rarely saw snow where they lived.

- "Snow ball Fight!" Yelled Katie as she picked up some snow.

- "No snow balls until we get everything inside and put away." Said Mr. Smith in an angry tone. It had been a long day of travel for the family and Mr. Smith was not in the mood for games.

- "C'mon dad. Let's just have a quick bit of fun." Ethan suggested.

- "You guys will have plenty of time to run around and play games this week. Let's help your father so you three can play sooner." Said Mrs. Smith.

Mrs. Smith knew the kids would only listen if she was to tell them. It had always been that way. If their father would tell them to do something, they'd do the opposite. But when she told them, it was done right away. Mrs. Smith knew her husband didn't like this. They'd had multiple conversations on the topic. After everything had been brought in and put away, the kids went back outside to play, while Mr. and Mrs. Smith had another one of those conversations.

- "No matter what I ask those kids to do they won't ever listen. It's as if they don't even respect me." Mr. Smith said in a sad tone.

- "Its not that they don't respect you, it's only because I'm around them all the time while you're away on your work trips." Explained Mrs. Smith.

- "If I don't go on my work trips, how is this family supposed to make any money?" asked Mr. Smith.

- "I'm not telling you to get a new job. I'm sure with time the kids will realize all the hard work you put in for our family and will learn to appreciate and listen to you more." said Mrs. Smith as calmly as she could, as not to upset her husband.

- "These kids should already appreciate everything I do for them. It frustrates me more than you can imagine. I just with they'd listen." Said Mr. Smith.

- "I know. I wish things were better too. Why don't you go lay down for a while and I'll come get you when dinner is ready?" Asked Mrs. Smith.

Mr. Smith went down the hall and crawled into bed for a quick nap. He thought a few moments to relax is would be what he needed. It felt like hours, but when Mrs. Smith woke up her husband, he had only been in bed for 45 minutes.

- "Dinners ready hun." She whispered.

- "I'll be there in a minute." Yawned Mr. Smith

When Mr. Smith got to the table, the rest of the family had already begun to eat. They hadn't eaten much while traveling and you could tell they were hungry. After dinner was finished, the kids got ready for bed while Mr. and Mrs. Smith did the dishes and cleaned up. Everyone was tired so they decided to have an early night so they could be up early and make the most out of their first day of skiing.

- "Wake up! Wake up! Screamed Isaac as he flipped on the lights and jumped into his parents bed the next morning.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith quickly got up, made some coffee, and got the kids ready to go. They all had to rent gear, so it was off to the rental shop for skis, boots, and poles. After a bit of whining from the kids, they were all geared up and read to hit the slopes. Knowing that the kids hadn't skied before, Mr. and Mrs. Smith took them on some easy runs to start. Surprisingly, the kids picked it up quick and were doing some pretty good skiing by the time they went into the day lodge for lunch.

- "I love skiing!" Said Ethan.

- "Me too!" Said Katie and Isaac together.

- "I'm glad!" Said Mr. Smith "I knew we'd have fun on this trip."

They finished up the sandwiches they had brought and decided to go over to the backside of the mountain for the rest of the day. The kids were getting even better by now. Even Mrs. Smith was back to her competitive skiing form. Mr. Smith even chuckled to himself when he thought he might be the weakest skier of the five.

It was almost the end of the day when Mrs. Smith got the whole family to stop to take some pictures in a spot with a great view. Mrs. Smith wanted the kids to ski off to she side a bit so she could take some good pictures of them skiing.

- "Don't go to far. We don't want to lose you." Said Mr. smith.

The kids didn't listen. They started skiing over to the edge of the treeline as Mrs. Smith was taking their pictures. Once she was done, Mr. Smith helped her put the camera back in her backpack and got himself ready to ski again. But when they looked up, the kids were nowhere to be seen. They quickly skied over to where they last saw them but there was nothing. No tracks to fallow, no one yelling back when they yelled, not the slightest clue as to where their kids had gone. The looked all around and called for their kids for quite some time. With no other options, Mr. and Mrs. Smith decided to ski down to the bottom and hope their kids were save and sound waiting for them. They weren't. Mr. and Mrs. Smith was in a panic. Their kids were somewhere on the mountain and the hill had just closed 10 minutes ago. Mr. Smith franticly looked for a ski patroller and told them what had happened. He was told that a search and rescue team would be sent out as soon as possible. For now, he was to return to the chalet with his wife. There was nothing else they could do.

Back on the mountain, Ethan, Katie, and Isaac were scared. They had gone past the treeline and over the edge of a cliff. They were in a serious situation. Isaac had broken both his skis, and Ethan had cut his arm, and Katie had most likely broken her ankle.

- "Why did we do that!?" Said Ethan. "We're going to be stuck here all night!"

- "It was your stupid idea!" Yelled Katie.

- "It was all our idea!" said Isaac trying to calm the situation.

- "Isaacs right." Said Katie. "There's no sense fighting over who did what. If we are going to be here for the night, we need to find some shelter because we could freeze out here."

- "You're right." Agreed Ethan. "I saw a little cave not too far over to the right from here, but how are we going to get there? Your ankle looks broken and Issacs skis are wrecked."

"We'll find a way. Otherwise we freeze to death right here." Said Katie.

The three kids started making their way to the cave. It was dark now and they could barley see where they were going. Ethan and Katie were carrying Isaac together while Katie tried not to put any weight on her ankle. They had almost made it to the cave, it was in sight, when Katie caught her leg on something a fell down.

- "I'm fine." Cried Katie, knowing full well she wasn't. "Just get Isaac to get cave. Come back for me."

Ethan quickly brought Isaac to the cave and raced back for his sister. He grabbed her under the arms and dragged her up to the cave. Ethan's arm was bleeding more than before now. He took off his under shirt and wrapped it tight around his cut. Katie could feel the cold in her ankle and it was throbbing with pain. They had made it to the cave but still weren't sure if they'd survive the night. They cuddled up in the cave where there was no snow and tried to stay warm.

- "I wish we would have listened to dad" Said Isaac while shivering.

- "We wouldn't of gotten lost if we did what he said." Katie agreed.

- "From here on, if we make it out of this, we'll do whatever dad tells us to do." Said Ethan.

Down at the chalet, Mr. and Mrs. Smith were worried as could be. The search and rescue team still hadn't found anything and it was almost midnight. Mr. Smith kept calming Mrs. Smith with reassurance that they'd be found. However, Mr. Smith didn't know if they would. It was a huge mountain and it could be days before they found them, which could be too late. He didn't want to think about it but it was the only thing on his mind. Mr. and Mrs. Smith couldn't sleep, nor did they want to. They just sat there waiting for their phone to ring and here good news.

The kids were so cold at this point in the cave. They didn't know what time it was but it was pitch black everywhere. It looked as if this was the end. They had given up all hope, then in the distance, Isaac could here something.

- "Guys do you hear that?" Asked Isaac to his siblings.

Slowly, they could hear something coming closer and closer to the cave. They couldn't tell what it was but now, it was coming fast. They all sat up to get a better look out the cave but couldn't see anything. Whatever it was must have been only 50 feet from the cave now. The three of them, already shivering from the cold, were shaking with fear. It was just about to enter the cave when Ethan saw a small light.

- "Look!" He said.

- "A rescue dog!" Said Isaac.

They'd been saved. The dog immediately started to bark. The kids could hear people making their way over through the snow. When the rescue team arrived they quickly wrapped the kids in thermal blankets to warm them up. It wasn't long before they had all been loaded up into sleds and towed by snowmobiles, on their way down the mountain. Mr. and Mrs. Smith rushed strait to the medical center as soon as they got the call. The kids arrived a few moments before their parents and were already being cared for when Mr. and Mrs. Smith came through the doors.

- "You're all right!!!" Exclaimed the parents simultaneously.

- "We were so worried about you." Said Mr. Smith.

- "We're so glad you're okay." Said Mrs. Smith.

The Kids didn't say anything, but you could see the small smiles they each gave.

- "Your kids will be okay," said the nurse, "they just need some rest for now. Why don't you come back in the morning?"

Mr. and Mrs. Smith waved goodbye to their kids but decided to wait in the waiting room till morning. In the morning, after Ethan got some stiches and Katie got a splint cast, Mr. and Mrs. Smith got to see all their kids. They all embraced in a very loving hug.

- "We're sorry dad. We should have listened." Said the kids together.

- "I'm just happy that you guys are all safe." Said Mr. Smith.

The family returned to the chalet and had some warm soup for lunch. They stayed at the chalet for the duration of their trip and had Christmas as usual. However, they didn't do very much outdoor activities during the remainder of their stay. The Smith family definitely became closer after that Christmas. But the biggest change to the family, was that no matter what, they always did what their father said.