Patch Blog: Lessons from the Bounce House

We sat there in Peekaboo Playland and then it became all too clear. In a blur of kids going down slides, bouncing in the bounce house, playing dress up, jumping, shouting, and running, it became clear Alicia was outgrowing it right in front of me.  

The girls and I always hit Peekaboo when I don't have to work. It's our little bonding thing. But today the big-A showed she's growing up just a little bit more.

While Andreya dressed like a princess and rode the white rocking horse with the pink tail, Alicia walked around and surveyed the slide, the doll house, the make believe kitchen, and then came over and sat right next to me on the chairs.  I asked her what was wrong and she told me she couldn't decide what to do.  

But it wasn't that she couldn't decide what to do, it was that she didn't want to do any of the things they had to offer. No longer was the little kitchen, the little green slide, or the little white make believe house enough to hold her attention.

So Alicia sat next to me and played on the iPad while Andreya played dress up. And then I did it. I did what any self-respecting, 36-year-old parent, with graying hair and a bad back would have done. I grabbed Alicia, I grabbed Andreya and we got in that bounce house.

And we rocked that thing.  

We freakin rocked it! The walls were shaking as we bounced up and down in a circle holding hands, stretching the manufacturers recommendations for the bounce house, and stretching Alicia's childhood just a little longer. The kids all defied the laws of gravity as I hit the bounce house and catapulted them into the air and we bounced and bounced and bounced.  

For a brief moment, Alicia was 6 again or 5 again...doing the really little kid things that we know and love.  But I know the clock is ticking.  These moments are getting to be fewer and fewer as she moves on to the next chapter.  

Later, Andreya yelled at Alicia from across Peekaboo, "Alicia where are you!!" and Alicia still ran over and gave her a hug as Andreya said, "I found you!"  

Now I know what people mean when they talk about wanting to bottle their kids up so they never grow up. The clock is moving too fast.