THE SECRET ROPE discovered by (my children!)
i would love to tell you where this is.. but i'm sworn to secrecy.
after church sunday, and before sue tasker's memorial service, my children invited me to come see them swing on "the secret rope"
we are blessed to have many manicured green belts, manufactured parks & playgrounds here in pleasanton.. but this is the best place i've seen so far -natural, heavenly, peaceful-
close but with a far away feel
and some kind person with a loving heart tied a nice thick rope to a spectacular and tall tree allowing children who dare, to swing amongst the trees over a sparkly brook -birds singin', squirrels scatterin', kids playin'
those swing sets at the park, with chains and seats over bark or sand; just can't compare
-to taking turns anchoring one foot in the loop at the bottom of the rope, holding on tight with both hands, and..
letting go -gently flying back n' forth over rocks and water.. insect suprises all around
-to the trickiness of the one-footed landing when your turn was over. -to the tip-toe stop on the small dirt hill, the balancing and racing to get your other foot out of the loop before the weight of your body and momentum of swing took you for an extra ride
nothing but smiles as i watched the near misses.. false landings
"catch me taryn!" jack would beg laughing.. "help!"
and so taryn would grab jack with both arms, skid down the hill just shy of getting her feet wet, and help him unleash his foot from the loop
she had her own, independent, exit strategy, increasing each time the speed with which she could get her foot out of the loop.. but this took a few entertaining tries to master
when not fast enough, a huge smile would emerge, and she was forced to swing a couple more times over the creek singin' "my arms are tired!" until she could get a landing solid enough to make her magician-like escape
everything about it was fun and magical;
peaceful and beautiful
"i could stay here all day," jack said "this is my happiest place"
"don't go tellin' everyone about this mommy," taryn said, "this is our secret place, okay"
"okay" i said smilin'
and i watched and smiled and prayed.. took some pictures of course
and wished a place and time like this for every child in the whole wide world
then at sue's memorial, i met her daughters for the first time. three strong, beautiful, obviously loving young ladies, and i loved hearing the memories, the adventures they shared with their mom; the memories, adventures they shared as a family. she took a lot of pictures too
she wrote about a lot of wonderful things, i thought to myself ...
and did a lot of things wonderfully write
so shall we.
posted by SHE @ 7:19 AM
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