While walking to the pool with Adelaide the other day, Melinda saw a perfectly good red bouncy ball sitting on a neighbor's trash pile – waiting for the disposal crew to pick up the next morning. Say what you want about dumpster diving, we just can’t stand to see perfectly usable items going to a landfill.
So, Melinda rescued the ball and buried it under the towels in the pool bag. During the excitement of the afternoon, and the rush to get Adelaide out of her swim diapers and into some real protection, we forgot all about the ball at the bottom of the bag.
A few days later, Adelaide was playing by Melinda’s feet while she made dinner. Bored with wooden spoons and plastic cups, she crawled down the hallway to start pulling shoes off the shoe rack. That’s when Melinda heard the yelling. She rushed into the hallway to see Adelaide diving head-first into the pool bag, frantically trying to pull out towels (and mostly getting tangled in them), and tossing sunscreen bottles into the air.
How she figured out there was a ball under there, we don’t know. But, there would be no peace until she was allowed to play with it. Melinda managed to get the bag away from Adelaide and unbury the ball. Then it got a good scrub down in the sink. While waiting for the ball to be disinfected, Adelaide could not contain her enthusiasm. She climbed up Melinda’s pant legs with never before (or since) seen dexterity and cheerfully jabbered a stream of excited babble at the top of her lungs.
So, Melinda rescued the ball and buried it under the towels in the pool bag. During the excitement of the afternoon, and the rush to get Adelaide out of her swim diapers and into some real protection, we forgot all about the ball at the bottom of the bag.
A few days later, Adelaide was playing by Melinda’s feet while she made dinner. Bored with wooden spoons and plastic cups, she crawled down the hallway to start pulling shoes off the shoe rack. That’s when Melinda heard the yelling. She rushed into the hallway to see Adelaide diving head-first into the pool bag, frantically trying to pull out towels (and mostly getting tangled in them), and tossing sunscreen bottles into the air.
How she figured out there was a ball under there, we don’t know. But, there would be no peace until she was allowed to play with it. Melinda managed to get the bag away from Adelaide and unbury the ball. Then it got a good scrub down in the sink. While waiting for the ball to be disinfected, Adelaide could not contain her enthusiasm. She climbed up Melinda’s pant legs with never before (or since) seen dexterity and cheerfully jabbered a stream of excited babble at the top of her lungs.
All the flashy, brightly-colored, singing, light-up plastic do-dahs in our toy aresnal pale in comparison to Adelaide's new favorite toy. Kid's know a classic when they see it. It was love at first bounce…
Hug the ball...awww...
Then toss it across the room - argh!
You can't escape me!
Gottcha!
SHAKE the ball into submission! Argh!
Victory Dance!
Adelaide loves bouncing, throwing, chasing, kicking, crawling over, hugging, and shaking her new red friend. Despite her rough treatment, we still think it's a much kinder fate than the dump.
this might be one of my favorite entries so far =)
ReplyDeleteYep, a classic!
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