jump!

Did you have a trampoline when you were a kid? We never had one, but we did, for a season, have a very long rope that we tied between two trees on either side of our yard. Now, if you're tempted to feel sorry for us right now because you think our parents deprived us of toys, don't. We got as much, if not more, enjoyment out of that simple rope as we did with any of our other toys. Just ask our friends who loved it, too! In fact, the giant rope inspired my friend, Kerri, and I to come to the conclusion that the only thing kids need in order to have fun is a long rope and a giant box. We still maintain that as truth to this day. But I always thought trampolines looked like fun, though possibly a tad dangerous what with the high jumping and no net to keep you from falling on your head if a trick went awry. Things have changed nowadays and you can practically cage your children into those contraptions they've made for today's overprotected child. (Yes, I think sometimes we go a little overboard in watching out for our kids, but in this instance I do err on the side of protection: I am very much in favor of the trampoline net.) 

When I went to pick Tommy up from a friend's house a few months ago, I found him and his friends inventing what looked and sounded like a complicated game on their trampoline. As I was catching up with the other mom for a few minutes, I asked her if her boys jumped on the trampoline much when there weren't other kids around to play. Her immediate response was, "Yes. If that thing broke tomorrow I'd go right out and buy a new one. It was a great investment. They jump on it every single day." 

Well. That high praise was enough to sway me 100% to the "Let's get a trampoline" mindset so Will and I talked it over and decided to get one. We wanted some other things in our yard for the kids to play on so Phase 1 is the trampoline and Phase 2 will be a swing set sometime in the future. For now though, they JUMP.

And jump and jump and jump. They LOVE it. They jump, they want to invite their friends to jump, and they even wanted to FaceTime with my their grandparents and great-grandmother so they could show them all their neat tricks! (Watch this GG! Mimi, look at my spin! Pa, watch me do a flip!) I sprung Tommy from school an hour early last Friday since the sun finally came out after a stretch of two straight weeks of clouds and rain. Do you know where they went the minute we got home? To jump. Clearly, on a scale of 1-10 for parental decision-making, Will and I just scored a perfect 10. Win! Happy Monday!