How to Slide!

Have a child who is afraid to go down the slide by himself. Thank goodness for all the exercise you do as you climb the steep stairblocks of the bouncy house, the bright primary colored vinyl slippery beneath your sock covered feet.

Find your sobbing kid at the top of the slide, who immediately stops once he sees you, snot covered mouth breaking out into a wide grin. "Mooomy! he says.

Discover that it's scary as hell at the top of one of these things, as you look down the steep descent to the bottom. Could you break something? You suddenly feel very old.

But climbing down does not seem to be an option. You're not sure how you managed to get up. And if the two and three year olds around you can do it unscathed, you guess you can too.

You plop your kid down on his stomach, feet first. He's saying NO NO NO and you feel like one of those guys who throws his kid in the pool to learn to swim...or drown. With a little push, down he goes and he's laughing halfway down, his little face smushed against the slide. At the bottom he scampers off to climb up again.

Then it's time for you to go and you feel like saying NO NO NO, but you ARE the adult. So you push yourself off and WHEEEEEEEE you go down very very fast and before you can really even think about it you land safely at the bottom.

It's fun to be a kid.

Try this at home:
Not a question. An order. Next time you have the opportunity, do slide. It's very fun!