Columnists
Up in the Air. Over the Wall
Excuse me, but did I just see reddish leaves on the trees in the “Big Swamp? Yes! Yes, I did. Come on, it’s only half-past August. As much as I am happy to see the end of the oppressive heat of summer, I’m not exactly ready for the hoodies, Hallowe’en and the fuzzy socks of autumn. I haven’t spent nearly enough time enjoying my yard or my little garden. I haven’t spent nearly enough time on the Trail either walking or cycling. I haven’t even had a breakfast on our little patio. Now I have to dig out the rakes to deal with leaf fall in my yard. Didn’t I just put the leaf rakes away? And, “yes”, I have to deal with leaf fall because we have a lot of trees in our yard. Dang!
The thing is, I really can’t say I haven’t enjoyed the summer so far, but I haven’t enjoyed it enough. It seems like I’m just moving from one day to the next and not really getting into the swing of the burgers, the hot dogs, pool noodles, wet towels, produce fresh from the farm stand, Pina Coladas, bonfires, s’mores and lightning bugs. Why does this summer seem to be passing by so quickly? Is it because I’m old? I remember my mom saying how quickly time seemed to pass when she was in her seventies. I think she should have given me a shake and told me to pay attention to the here and now. Maybe she was pitching that concept to me and I’m just a swing and a miss kinda gal. Speaking of swings, I wouldn’t mind an adult-sized swing in my yard. I’m not talking about one of those old fart glider things our grannies had. I’m talking about the kind of swing my dad made for baby brother and me when we were little kids. Tall wooden upright posts with heavy duty crossbeam and those thick ropes attached to a wooden board seat, kinda swing. Y’all know the kind of swing a kid sat on, closed their eyes and imagined swinging so high as to see over the back roof into the front yard. That kind of swing. That’s what I want. Except my swing would have to have a seat big enough to accommodate my fluffy backside and be semi-comfortable. I want to hang onto those ropes and lean way back until my head almost touches the ground. I want someone to give me a push. The kind of push where I’m way up in the air with my feet straight out and the swing-pusher rushes underneath me just before I make the descent.
A great big, old-fashioned but adult kinda swing would probably make my summer last a bit longer. I think it would do wonders for my mental health and the pumping would be a great leg workout, dontcha think? Of course, if it were a more nowadays kind of swing for an adult there would have to be a place to put my coffee mug or my wine glass while I’m busy “seeing so wide”. An add-on holder of the mug or the glass couldn’t interfere with the whole aesthetic of an old-fashioned swing, I don’t think. I’m fairly certain it would be an extremely popular addition to our backyard. Maybe it could be a two-swing set up so LOML could enjoy the “up in the air and over the wall” feeling that swings always give a person. Of course, he’d have to get me started with a push before he got to settle into his dreamy adventure.
Yeah, that’s the ticket to prolong the summer! A great big, old-style swing in the backyard. There would be less lawn to mow and if I played my cards right I could “look down on the garden green” until the first snowfall.
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