When Sidewalks Attack

The first day of Spring might have officially been on March 20th, but it's only now that Houserspawn(tm) Nation is recognizing the change in seasons.

We can now officially acknowledge that Spring has arrived because the kids have started to accumulate injuries of the outside-playing, shorts-wearing, sidewalk-stumbling variety.
The two most recent mishaps:

- Friday, April 11th - Zach stumbled and skinned his knee walking home from school.
- Sunday, April 14th - Ben fell off his scooter, scraping up his face.

Linda tells me that Phoebe also did a fall-and-scrape last week, but since it didn't draw blood, it doesn't make the list.

We Wish You A Merry Fitness

Over the Christmas and New Years holidays, we had the opportunity to make several trips to visit Linda's parents.

Nana and Grandpa have a big yard where the kids can run and play, a dog that loves attention, and a large assortment of toys and games. And during our visits, the kids were the recipients of many generous gifts from their grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

And yet, the kids' favorite activity at Nana and Grandpa's house is to play on the old stationary bike and treadmill that Linda's parents keep in the basement.

The most popular games include:

- running the treadmill at full speed and dodging the toys that your siblings place on the track
- using the treadmill guardrails to flip upside-down (preferably, with the treadmill still running)
- climbing between the treadmill and stationary bike without touching the floor

Because after all, when you're a child, what is more compelling than wanton danger and recklessness?

(Answer: Nothing.)

Let The Good Times Roll

Zach took a school field trip to the local skating rink last week.

Despite falling approximately three hundred times, he reports that he had a good time.

(After a while, he switched to roller blades and seemed less prone to falling.)

The Giant Rocks of Death

danger [deyn-jer] -noun
1. liability or exposure to harm or injury; risk; peril
2. an instance or cause of peril; menace

Last week, we vacationed in Southwest Harbor, Maine. We spent much of the week swimming, hiking, and kayaking. But the kids didn't enjoy any of these activities quite as much as climbing on the Giant Rocks of Death.

Three of the hiking trails we walked ended up at the Giant Rocks of Death - a long stretch of rocky shoreline that proved irresistable to the kids. If we would have made the Death Rocks off-limits, we surely would have been accused of ruining their vacation, if not their lives. On the other hand, the rocks are just dangerous enough to make a parent feel irresponsible for allowing their children to play on them.

So, as usual, we erred on the side of irresponsibility, and let the kids jump around perilously on the rocky shore. They couldn't have been happier.

In the end, we walked away from the Giant Rocks of Death relatively unscathed -- Phoebe took a spill on the path on the way to the rocks, but other than that, there were no injuries to speak of.

Maybe next time, we should let them jump around the rocks on pogo sticks. Or roller skates.

(left: Ben asks "Am I making you nervous, Mom and Dad? How about now?")