Sleeping on the trampoline

When I was growing up we spent many a summer night sleeping on trampolines.  We thought it was the coolest thing ever! ( I have since come to believe our mothers figured out it was a good way to get us out of the house and not have  to listen to us and yell at us to shut up and go to sleep)  My kids were big on sleeping out on the tramp as well when they were little, so it only makes sense that I would want to share that tradition with my grandchildren. 

It's been hot as blazes here in Colorado the last while, so getting out of my house without air conditioning has been tops on my priority list.  A couple of nights ago, while watching my 3 year old granddaughter jumping on the tramp at dusk I knew we had to have a trampoline sleepover.   I climbed on the tramp with her and did a few rounds of "ring around the rosie"  (Which was more fun when I was younger....I was beginning to get vertigo) and we laid down and looked at the clouds and decided what they were.  (spiders, angels and monkeys...oh my!!)  and hatched the plan with her to sleep outside.  Her eyes were huge in disbelief that sleeping outside on the tramp was even allowed.  She smiled at me with the largest grin I have seen on her face in a long time.  It was as if in her little mind she was thinking-
, "I need to hang out more with Gammie.  She has some serious fun."
(Which thinking she wound be totally right!!)

We grabbed the blankies from around the house, made popcorn, and pulled out the laptop to watch a movie. (yea, we didn't do that as a kid)  The movie portion actually lasted only a few minutes, and I was thrilled when she said, "Gammie, can we turn off the movie and look at the stars?" 
"Duh" I thought.   My one minute to unplug and hang out with her and I organize more technology for her.  I made a note to myself not to do that again, and off went the movie. 

 We laid on our backs and snacked on popcorn.  We talked about stars and where they came from and what they were made of and how big they were.  I made up most of the stuff as I am not sure the exact molecular structure of a star, but she thought the answer that Heavenly Father and Jesus made the stars so we would have a beautiful sky to look at night was a great answer.  (And, frankly, I do too!)

We looked at all the airplanes flying with their blinking lights.   We guessed where the people in the airplanes were flying to.  She snuggled close to me and giggled. ( I hardly slept, and my granddaughter will probably get west nile from all the bug bites she has,) It was the best night in a long time. 

Too often we are so busy with the hustle and bustle of life.  We do what our Iphones and blackberries tell us to do when they tell us to do them.  I don't want to live my life like that.  I want memories that last into eternity.  I want my granddaughter to remember the night on the trampoline and I hope there are many more in the future.   I have learned something from the teachers I work with.  They take summers off still. While I continue to work every day and juggle all the responsibilities of the leadership program, they are not.  And they are smarter than I am.  They went on vacation for six weeks.  They are up in the mountains all summer.  They are bike riding, swimming, and making sandcastles.  That is why they are teachers, and they are smart to use their time to unplug.  Heaven knows they will spend the next nine months running with their hair on fire. Maybe we all don't get summers off, but we all get some time off.  Are we using that time to make a difference and build relationships with those who matter most, or are we bringing work home, shoo-ing off the kids to be quiet, ignoring our spouse for hours at a time to do a little more work? 

Don't forget why we are here- build those relationships that truly matter!  Because that is how we truly make a difference, one random woman at a time!