Yesterday I went to Target, a place I can easily get lost for a good hour or more. Now that I have Savvy, I explore aisles that have never before been walked by me, like the sippy cup aisle, and the toy aisles. Yesterday I weaved in and out of the toys and saw a lot of things that were cute, and a lot of things that were completely horrifying. ("Does a child really want something called a 'Brat'?" "Who buys this stuff?" etc.) We stopped and looked at a little Elmo that was about 8 inches tall. When you shake it, its head opens and closes and makes Elmo talk. I have always loved Elmo's cute laugh so to me it was a little bit endearing. I played with it for a minute before I looked down at Savvy in the cart. She had a terrified look on her face and every time I shook it, she jumped out of her skin and leaned farther back in the basket. I suppose if you didn't already know and love Elmo, something that bright and noisy with massive eyes and a huge opening mouth might be a bit overwhelming. After all, he is a monster. I hope she gets over it, because I love Elmo.
On the next toy aisle over I spotted some swings. I had visions of my awesome Uncle Homer who ALWAYS has a wonderful swing in his yard hanging from the tallest tree. I had to have the swing. So I threw it in the cart (or buggy as they call it here.)
Savvy is big enough now to sit in the actual cart in the kid seat which she loves. It gives her a perfect vantage point for seeing everything that I am doing, as well as what is on the shelves as we walk by. She does indeed suck on every part of the cart within her little reach. It is completely disgusting, but I do my best to wipe it all down before she can get her mouth on it. The only bad thing is that she LOVES to sit in the cart, so when it is time to unload, she is the last thing out of the cart and I have to pry each finger off of the handle to get her out. Somehow there is always someone laughing at me in the parking lot as I try to seperate her from the cart. It is always very sad for her to leave the cart behind and be strapped back into her car seat.
So we got home and I wanted to hang the swing immediately. So I found a really long rope and headed for the huge oak tree out back. I have had my eye on a specific branch for a great swing since we moved into our house. The only problem, is that the branch is 30 feet up, and it is the lowest branch on the tree. I tried everything I could think of to get my rope up and over the branch. I tied the rope up in a big ball to make it heavier and heaved away, but I wasn't even close. So I thought, what would my Dad or Uncle Homer do? Eureka! The extension ladder! I pulled it out and set it up against the tree and realized what a precarious thing a tree is to lean a tall ladder against. Unfortunately, my ladder is only 20 feet, so even fully extended it was still a stretch. I got bad hammer-leg about 15 feet up and the ladder shook so much I couldn't go any higher, more or less brace myself to throw the rope. The ladder would not do. Then I thought, a catapult! I got out a long-tined rake to hook the rope on and fling it up and over. I flung and flung, but only managed to hook the rope on the top of the ladder that I hadn't put away quite yet, and shoot it directly over my head across the yard. I tried everything I could think of. I really would have loved to watch myself from my neighbor through the block's house. I know they were laughing. Anyway, I finally gave up on the dream branch, and settled for a different tree, a maple that grows under some power lines and has been completely butchered by teh power company when they come through and trim the trees away from the lines. It is a sad little tree and not very worthy of a swing, but it was all I could reach, and Savvy's nose was all runny from sitting out waiting. She was a good sport. By the time it was all said and done, I only had a few minutes to actully swing her before my violin students came. She didn't complain though.
She is a nut.
1 comment:
This is a funny story--I love your commitment to the oak tree swing--shows tenacity :)
Speaking of Homer, I saw Ramsey at church on Sunday in Maui 2 weeks ago. He was there with his cute wife and little baby (and his in-laws). So fun to see a familiar face so far from home--and one I haven't seen for probably 5 or 6 years!
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