The Swing

I love swings! (Everybody does?) And the feeling that comes with being on a swing, moving to and fro, enjoying that much air, and the almost “flying” feel (well, just that one's butt is on something and holding onto something as well but that definitely doesn't do away with the “fly” feel swings have).

I have had a ton of beautiful and somewhat hilarious (or maybe hurtful at that point?) Memories with swings and these experiences I have had with it in the past only makes me love swings more, really. They have grown to be one of the things that I enjoy immensely!😍😊

I often find myself saying “there is nothing interesting about me, I am just like every other person”. Lol! (But there is something interesting about every other person, yeah?) And that's why I find it hard answering the “tell me about yourself questions” but I have realized that for me, it takes just one experience or even a word to bring back fun and interesting memories that at some point I thought were uninteresting. So just in case you know nothing about me apart from the fact that I love chocolates, I love swings as well.😊 Yeah, this was what the aggression was all about.

So, what brought back this memory? So, a couple of days ago, my mum was visiting a friend and I offered to go with her since I also happen to have a friend in that house (the friend's daughter) but when we got there, my friend wasn't home (what you get for not informing people before coming over😀) and well, I decided to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air while my mum and her friends were inside doing their thing.

So, this sit I sat on was a rocking chair, and I let myself “rock” the chair and enjoy every rocking moment😀, time went by too quickly and I didn't even realize until I heard Mum say “it seems like you are enjoying the ‘lilo’ (swing) effect of the chair”. Well, that word reminded me of a song, a song we will sing every time we go on a “swing journey” with my friends. This song kept ringing in my head…

The swing is sweet
Let not the kid fall
And get wounded in vain

As I translate this song (because it wasn't originally in English, and the translation just doesn't rhyme😆), I wonder why getting wounded will be in vain when the swing is supposed to be sweet🤔. Oh, I will love to sing it for you but for now, just imagine it. Or maybe add some tune to the translation, you could create a cool music in the process😉

Okay, yeah. It's not normal to get wounded while one is on a swing, but with this swing, I am about to tell you about, what isn't normal is not getting wounded. Does that make sense??? Lol!

This song, I don’t really know if my friends heard it from somewhere or we somewhat created ourselves but it was a cool song and it took the adventure up a notch! Wait, is it even a song?🤔

I haven't had a “swing experience” in a long while, almost about a year ago when I went to the park with my sister and now, I am craving for one of these experiences. Well, it won't be one where the kid will fall and get wounded in vain though😂😂🤣🤣.

Enough Of The Talk, Let's Swing Away!!!😊😉

It all started with the kids wanting a swing to play with after school or when school was on holiday! Of course, there was a swing in school but well, we can't take that swing to our houses and neither can out parents take us to the park every day so we can satisfy our swing addiction cravings or is it thirst? (Dunno the appropriate word to use there but you get I, right? Any word can actually fit it there.😀)

^{I have managed to find something that looks more like what the parents made but what the kids made afterwards is something that just can't be found😂😂}

The parents in my neighborhood came up with an idea to make a swing for the kids so they can play with. A perfectly made plan that just didn't work out well. Well, they came together and made the swing using a rope which they hung on a huge branch of a tree and then a plank with the rope’s end fixed at each end of the plank. Dunno how they fixed it but it was safe, secure and was meant to surprise and please us all but, it didn't!!

The kid with the swing in front of their house wasn't one of our favorites for some reason that I can't even remember clearly and apparently, our parents chose that spot because it was the closest to everyone's house (center-ish) but really, we didn't ask for that and they won't hear any of our talk about changing where the swing is.

So, Here Is Where The Adventure Starts*

After trying with no success to convince them to move the swing to another location, I told the other kids that we should go make our own swing and leave that one for the kid there. One of my friend's asked, “do you know how to?” And I said yes! 🤣🤣

Something about the neighborhood I grew up in is that there are really huge Neem tree in front of almost everyone's house. No, our parents didn't plant them (because they wouldn't have been that huge, maybe nature did😊) but to me back then, they were nothing but trees that helped dirty the environment with those really tiny leaves of theirs that keep falling, especially during the dry season. And sometimes, creating an avenue for kids “punishment” whenever they misbehave🤣 — we are made to sweep those leaves from house to house.

Sweeping was fun, really, especially for kids unless if it interferes with our work play😊 but we do it anyways and continue working playing afterward. My view of those trees changed once I realized that they could be more useful, in making the swing. Oh, no! I had no idea that tree holds any medicinal properties. Oh, I know something else it was good for, it was a good shade from the sun😀

Okay, I feel like this is becoming a very long post, longer than I had intended it to be. I would have to stop here and maybe continue tomorrow or next. 😊

Next, we will talk more about the adventures, the fun, and the little pains🤣

Much Love — Audrey❤