Learning to Play

     Last Monday, Nov. 14, I took Molly to her OGBYN dr. appointment.  We were both nervous, I think.  She had had very high blood pressure the week before and was put on semi-bed rest.  A really hard thing to do with a 2 year old.  Jeff's mom and I took turns either being at the house to help with Jack or we took him home with us.  I have to admit, it was sort of a long week....  However, it all worked out fine.       In fact stupendously better than fine.  On Friday, I took Jack to a place called 'Pump-It-Up,' a place that is filled with those bounce houses you can rent.  They had some really big bounce-able activities there.  It was a little overwhelming for me at first.  Jack, however, was totally in his 2-year-old-lets-run-and-be-crazy mode and was delighted!  He naturally gravitated to the really big pieces and all I could think was "he will get stuck and scared and will have to rescue him!!!!! and I don't know if I can do that and then what will I do.... I am old, I am still in my post-foot operation shoe, and oh my gosh I have to take it off and follow him around...please God, don't let anything bad happen to my foot...and, oh yes, or Jack too"
     God was surely listening and Jack finally settled on a more manageable house.  So do I let him go in by himself or do I have to go toooo???? He crawled in and came to the front screen and in his funny little way said to me, " c'mon Mimi"(supposed to be Grammy, but who cares), and uses his little signal of curling his fingers into his hand, and I was caught in a dilemma; what will happen if I don't go and what will happen if I do....?
     So, as I always do, I did what Jack told me to do and crawled into a short tunnel (did I mention that I am claustrophobic?) that was pretty much kid size, and I was in.  There was a dad in there with his daughter and he was bouncing to bounce her and, of course, Jack and me too. I hurriedly looked around and settled (sat) close to a sort of corner.  Jack started careening into me, squealing with delight when I threw him against the wall and he toppled back into me and the fun (and it was really fun) began.  We were rolling all over the place and pushing each other (I never stood up! I am not the most coordinated person in the world and in a bounce house...  Horrors!) but we were both were breathless with laughter.
     After that we did tackle a huge, gigantic slide where you had to go up this latter thing... Jack would slip down it while I was (carefully) going up it so I basically pushed his little bottom up as I went.  We were collapsing with laughter.  Who thought a sort-of ladder would be so much fun???  We finally got to the top and it was a long way down.  Altho I don't like heights, Jack is all for them, so we sat down, held hands and went down down down....  Luckily, there was a big cushion thing at the bottom that we plowed into to stop.
     There was no stopping, as such, us after that. I finally looked at the clock and I could not believe we had been there 1 1/2 hours!  Jack did not want to leave, but I began to wonder exactly how my body would feel the next day....  To tell the truth, I was a little relieved to put my safe, but ugly, after- foot-surgery shoe. It was late so I decided to stop at our favorite Sonic to get a grilled cheese.  Jack fell asleep on the way there and I had to wake him up to eat and then to put him down for a nap.
     I did not play much as a child.  My house was a scary place to be and once I began escaping to read, I played even less.  So basically, I never learned to play and have fun.  That is sad.  Jack has filled my life with opportunities to learn to play, Jack style.  God has been oh, so wonderful, in giving me such a delightful playmate.  And now there is Owen.  I wonder what it will be like to have 2  little boy playmates?  What fun!