ElementalMom

Bounce!

Nearly two years ago, when we went to New Zealand, we discovered the joys of the Trampoline. Our gracious hosts, Liz and Sarah, had one for their four kids, and we thought that was incredibly cool. Then we discovered that trampolines are pretty much ubiquitious there. Maybe because of the weather, maybe because the Kiwis are just seriously clever that way. Rowan was entranced.

Thanks to a lot of legwork for a few months, the wisdom of some folks on one of my mommy lists, and the luck of the draw on Craigslist, I managed to score a 14′ trampoline for Rowan for Christmas. He’d fallen asleep when we went to pick up the parts, so we managed to get it home without him knowing. Then, Christmas morning, Papa arrayed the pieces on the lawn. Rowan kept asking “what is it?” and we kept saying “guess!”. Then…

…my Mom handed him one spring. Just one. His eyes lit, and he yelled “It’s a trampoline!!!” Clever kid…

He proceeded to supervise construction…

…involving himself in every step…

Until it was time for the test jumps!

Well, it started out to be for Rowan. It’s now quite clearly for the entire family. This is my favorite picture from Christmas:

That’s two teenagers, and two toddlers, all laughing and bouncing and flying and just being happy. That’s Christmas. And the best $45 I ever spent.

There is something about jumping that just makes everything right with the world. There is nothing better than a 10 minute bounce when work is stressful. Or when you’re tired. Or to get the creative gears turning. Or when the kids are crabby. Or when the spouse is crabby. “Go jump!” is becoming one of the tools in our Family Toolbox of Coping. I wish I’d bought one sooner…