There is a package of fun sitting on the counter by the back door. It is made of green mesh, black webbing, and metal fasteners. It has been there for over a week and I am getting impatient. Months ago I decided I needed a swing in the yard. I wanted a good old-fashioned swing hanging from a branch of a tree in the lowlands. But finding a swing that was reasonably priced and didn't entail an elaborate $1000 play set proved to be more of a challenge than I anticipated. Not one to give up easily, I kept looking because I was determined to have a swing before summer was over.
The swing I was looking for had to be able to accommodate Nana's weight and be suitable for the grandkids. That proved to be more challenging than I had imagined. There were lots of silly little bucket swings with leg holes. Not a hope in hell they'd fit Nana and I'd definitely hurt myself trying to fit in! There were ridiculously expensive recycled plastic seats that would only hold half of Nana's width and weight. I did find a nice wide wooden seat out of the States but good lord I could have bought one of those expensive play sets with a climbing wall on it by the time I paid for one wooden seat and the shipping costs.
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| Wild strawberries in bloom June 2016 |
It all made me wonder if I might need to convince Greg to make a swing for me. The initial convincing would not be hard. I knew I could pull off the initial convincing. The challenge was going to be the motivation required between then and the day I would have a swing hanging in the tree. It's one thing to get someone to agree to an idea in principle, it is quite another to motivate said person to actually carry out the desired activity.
Wisdom and experience decreed that I would have to produce a swing somehow and then get busy working on creating the motivation for him to hang it for me. Luck was on my side. On a chance trip through Ikea, I spotted a swing for sale. In truth I caught sight of the word "swing" on a sign as I was breezing by. A quick detour revealed that the plastic package on the shelf, stuffed with something green was in fact a mesh swing seat and the necessary parts to hang it. It would hold enough weight for Nana and one grandkid to swing together. It seemed like it would be comfortable. And it was reasonably priced. Start the car, that swing was sold.
Now the swing is sitting in its packaging by the door. Yesterday I scoped out branches and determined there were several options for hanging the swing. Over supper, I started working on creating the motivation in my husband to get that swing hung. I suggested it was time to get the swing hung before the winter snows make it miserable - exaggeration sometimes works. He responded that he wasn't hanging it without me picking the branch. Turns out he was afraid he'd pick the wrong branch and the first time I used the swing, the branch might break. Ah, we were getting somewhere. We were unearthing and naming the fear.
Visualize that fear with me. Me on the ground with the swing underneath and a tree branch lodged across my head. That would not unfold well for Greg. Not only might I get hurt but chances were high I might be angry too. A wise man takes calculated risks and my man decided that picking the branch alone would not be wise. You see if we picked it together then we also bore the responsibility together. Today, we will go out together with a ladder and the necessary equipment to select a sturdy branch and hang the swing.
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