The Senator’s daughter wants a trampoline.  She has wanted one for as long as I can remember.   In fact, the word trampoline has been included on every Christmas and Birthday wish list for as long as she has been able to write…. Yet, there has never been a glimpse of a trampoline or glimmer of hope for one to magically land in our backyard.

The reasons are simple.  The Senator has a real phobia about these contraptions.  He thinks they are a liability and an apparatus just begging for children to break something.   My father, who is a physician, concurs.  In fact, he has always insisted that no child or grandchild of his shall own a motorcycle, trampoline or go sky diving. Ever.

Alright, so I lived with that growing up and turned out ok.  Bikes and planes were never my thing and the neighbors had a trampoline.  Sorry dad.

Yet, the Senator’s daughter….well, she refuses to accept this. Although, I’m sure if any of the neighbors had a trampoline I wouldn’t be having this online conversation.

But, this girl has some serious sass and determination when it comes to finding solutions….and, she wants to jump on a trampoline.  Her trampoline.  Before she is too old to jump.

She also realized early on that it wasn’t going to happen in the traditional manner considering her overly protective family situation.

So… the Senator’s daughter has been working hard, saving her money and has now banked enough pocket change to purchase a trampoline for herself…plus tax and shipping if necessary!   She made the announcement around 7:00 p.m. on Sunday evening in the presence of the Senator, and her grandfather.  It was fun to watch.  Even more enjoyable was watching her take them out into the backyard to show them the site she had selected for the trampoline she was going to purchase. Priceless.

Her grandfather approved with one condition; no flips.  As in, you can and will not do a flip, forwards or backwards of any kind. Period.  The Senator’s daughter agreed without hesitation, realizing this was nearly a done deal.

The Senator….not so much.  He is still trying to figure out how he lost control over the situation.  I imagine he will soon realize, if he hasn’t already, that his daughter is one sharp cookie and had this one all figured out before he knew what was happening.  She will also jump using extreme caution.  I hope.

Like I said, feel free to jump on in the conversation.  I’m sure it will remain an ongoing debate around this joint even after the trampoline has magically landed in the backyard!

I’ll keep you posted.

SW