Jump Jiving

I just jumped until sweat flew off me. The best part about taking the kids to Sky High is that I get to jump for an hour. I jump like an old lady. No tricks for me, but it is a great hit of endorphins. I'm a big fan of a natural high. Plus, I get to jump really high once in a while, just to see if I can.

When I was a kid, I went through a stage during which I jumped almost constantly. I'd jump in my bedroom. I'd jump in the kitchen. I'd jump while I was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom. Brushing my teeth while I jumped didn't work. I found that out.

I just had an excess of energy. I think it was around the onset of puberty, you know, with all those crazy hormone surges and all. It seemed to last about eight months. It was weird, really. Picture an adolescent jumping down to the bus stop and hopping until it turned around the corner a block away. I wasn't totally crazy. I didn't want anyone to see me jumping like that.

I still feel a little that way, embarrassed to be seen jumping, all that oldness flopping around. I can guess that it isn't pretty. Really. Not. Pretty.

But I'm out there, jumping until the sweat flies off my hair, feeling my heart pumping, surging in endorphins, almost that energetic young girl once again. Well, maybe just in my head.

Thank you for listening, jb

Damages

I'm sitting at my desk where my computer used to be, typing this on my iPhone. I have had a bad day.

Nick, Adrian, Teddy, and I were walking at the park while someone smashed my car window and took my backpack.

It was the first day I had ever put my laptop into my backpack. I had intended to do some work later while the boys were jumping at Sky High.

We ended up getting to Sky High an hour and a half late after reporting the theft to the police and tracking down the serial number to my computer. These people were so nice! Even our Groupon tickets had been stolen and the Sky High staff still let the boys jump for their two hours! I have to admit that their kindness made me cry.

As I waited for the boys, I made out a list of what I had lost, about $400 worth of other stuff. Thankfully, I'd been carrying my summer wallet and my check book in my pocket when we were out on the trail.

Here's the real problem. I feel the most upset about the things I lost that have little or no monetary value at all. It all reminded me of a short story I read years ago called 'The Things They Carried' about what soldiers carried with them.

I carried my favorite picture of my grandma holding a book in her hands. Next to her, I had one of my old dog, Indiana, laughing into the camera. I'll miss the succession of school photos of Nick that showed him growing up. Next to him, I had a twenty year old picture of Mike. People said he looked so young in the photo, but I always saw the same man as the one I know now. I had jammed the fortune from a cookie into it that said 'Happiness isn't perfect until it is shared.' Those pictures were in my main wallet.

Over the summer, I bought a tiny wallet that I could carry in a pocket for walks or time on the beach. It had just enough room for my ID and credit cards. Just yesterday, I had considered putting it all back into my main wallet and retiring the summer wallet until next year. I'm glad I waited. I will miss those pictures though.

My backpack also held the Swiss army knife that Nick gave me for Mother's Day. He got me a glow in the dark one, he had said, so I could find it in the dark if I dropped it.

I lost my favorite scarf, a tan and orange wool one that Mike's mom had bought for him before she died. She would have liked how many times Nick ended up wearing it when he hadn't dressed warmly enough for the weather.

I lost a notebook that I was half done writing. Nick had drawn some pictures for me in it. Worse yet, I'm mortified to think of this person reading what I wrote just as I woke up in this morning. Mike, in all earnestness, said it would probably end up in a garbage can somewhere instead and that was some small relief.

Okay, it was just stuff. No one was hurt. We had backed up our computer not too long ago. We can change passwords. I keep trying to tell myself it could have been so much worse.

There's one more thing, though. That thief stole my Christmas spirit.

Thank you for listening, jb

Out And About With a Boy Near Seattle

Buddy, our cuddly kitty, wanted us to stay home today. He'd like some couch time, some extra snacks, and a massage behind the ears. He's a good cat, but those aren't good activities for a boy on summer break.

Here's what we did this week:

The Seattle area has some great biking trails. When we have a longer day, I want to pedal the Burke-Gillman Trail along the West side of Lake Washington. We only had an afternoon, so we biked from Marymoor Park up the Slough Trail. There was a Subway right at the park for a snack when we were done. I had a Italian BMT salad.

Biking was popular this week, so we went out to Tolt MacDonald Park in Carnation the next day. Nick's friend, Cole, and his mom, Susan, met us there. She didn't have a bike, so Nick, Mike, and Cole biked. Mike said that they biked under the bridge at the Tolt River, met with the Snoqualmie River Trail and went North through Carnation. That trail goes all the way up to Duvall, another ride for a longer day. That ride would deserve a picnic. Susan and I took a brisk walk along the same trail. She's in better condition than I am, so I got a workout trying to keep up.

Yesterday, it was raining in the morning, so Nick and Adrian debated the merits of jumping at Sky High or going swimming at the Bellevue Aquatics Center. Sky High won so I signed them up for an hour of trampoline time. I took an hour too. The teenagers there aren't too pleased to see the old lady blocking their leaps, but I love it. I can still jump, but I keep it simple. I don't do any tricks.

We have a long list of things to do that include mentally mapping our bike routes and how they fit together. We plan to go to the Woodland Park Zoo tomorrow and the Aquarium next week. There are biology lessons for us. We have season passes to Wild Waves. Wave pools and looping rides are all about physics if you look at them. I'll ask Nick the question, "Why don't you fall out when the ride goes upside down?" We will hike, finding geocaches, swim at as many of the lakes as we can. We'll look for rocks at the river. We might even go see if Nick has grown tall enough yet to drive his own go-cart. Every boys wants to learn good driving skills. This summer, I'd like to go up in a float plane. I also want to go to Friday Harbor for whale watching too.

It's going to be a very educational summer in the Pacific Northwest!

Thank you for listening, jb