Good morning all. The irritation in my eye is gone and I am feeling heaps better than yesterday. with everything blooming and the wind gusting heavily I’m not sure what the culprit was but no permanent damage was done. I am thinking that walking goggles need to be a part of the new spring line for my area though. Who knows it could be the next fashion sensation. But while I contemplate my eventual domination of the fashion industry, perhaps we had best move into this morning’s writing prompt. Ready? Excellent.
That was fun. I have no idea if it will ever be of use anywhere. But it was fun.
Wednesday, May 19th: It was something he had loved since childhood.
It was something he had loved since childhood. It gave him a feeling of weightlessness, of being free and out of whatever mess was currently circling around him. He didn’t realize how much he missed the feeling until he found it again.
The swing set had been reinforced to carry the load of an adult, specifically one his size, even a little greater just to be on the safe side. He ran the numbers with the engineers several times. He already fel a little silly putting a swing set in his back yard when he had no children, but figured having to be extracted from the remains of the swing set by a team of medical professionals would be infinitely more embarrassing.
Once assured that it would hold him, he set it into place. He put the swing set in the wooded area of his property. There was a small out door eating area he set up there already and he was accustomed to spending time there when he needed just a little bit of a break from the world. It was screened from view by anyone passing by. The trees formed a natural barrier but in addition there was a privacy fence that ran the length of the property. When he was back there he couldn’t see even a flicker of humanity.
Still after the concrete footings set and the swing set up, he felt a little self-conscious the first time hi sat in the sling of the seat. Swinging on a swing set was not something a grown man did. He wasn’t entirely certain why. He suspected it was simply due to the mechanics of children’s swing sets and their lack of capacity for the safety of a grown man.
Still, there was no one around. ‘And if anyone does come by I am making sure it is safe for children,’ he decided.
Mentally he flinched. He wasn’t married and didn’t have any children. Saying he was preparing for them might sound like he was up to something nefarious. ‘Nieces and nephews visiting,’ he mentally amended. ‘For when my brother’s kids visit.’
He nodded to himself. That sounded better. Less dangerous. Admittedly his brother would be surprised to find out that he had kids, but hopefully it would never come to that. He took his place in the swing. It hung too low and his knees were practically bumping his chest. He stood up and retrieved the ladder to adjust the chains. Once the height was satisfactory, he put the ladder away and sat back down. It was now the perfect height for me.
‘Still testing it for family,’ he told the imaginary nosy neighbor in his head. He kicked off the ground, this time his feet and legs at the perfect angle. He swung, tentatively at first but then with growing confidence. He pumped his legs to go higher and felt the wind of his own passing whoosh past him. He smiled, once again feeling weightless. He let thoughts of potential neighbors slip away as he swung through the air. It was exhilarating and free.
He lost track of time and had no idea how long he was on the swing set, but by the time his feet ran to a stop on the grass beneath them, he felt calmer than he had in a long time. When he stood up, he could feel the exertion in both his legs and his arms. ‘Weights at the gym,’ he once again told an imaginary questioner. His grin was wide and amused.
Ten til Midnight 