Umbrella

For the first 9 years of my life we lived right next door to the neighborhood park.  This was a great park - grassy, with a tall slide, jungle gym, prefect swings and a merry-go-round.  I would ask to be pushed higher and higher on the swings.  I loved them.  

The Arcata Bottoms had the prefect geography to whip up some very windy days.  I can remember when I was small enough for the wind to "support" me.  Just enough of a push to make it feel like it was holding me up.  

In the park there was also a picnic table.  We would climb to the top holding onto an umbrella on especially windy days.  Holding the umbrella up as high as our little arms would let us we would leap off the top of the table.  For a split second we would fall like normal and then the wind would catch in the umbrella.  In my minds eye I would be floating on the wind - Marry Poppins style.  I could picture myself gently landing back on the ground while in reality the hard ground shook my knobby knees and I'm sure I ended up with a few grass stains from stumbled landings.  

And up again I'd go to do it all over again.