In the back right hand corner of our backyard sits an old wooden swing set. My dad built it for my sister and I sometime in the late nineties or early two-thousands. It's my favorite spot and holds so many memories. We used to see who could swing high enough to hit the trees behind it,i always won.While the frame of the swing set is important it's the one wooden swing in the middle of the two plastic ones that i love most. I love it because it is my swing and was built with love just for me.
When I was in high school i told my dad i wanted a wooden swing because i thought they were cool. He grumbled a little bit but went down into his shop and came up a few hours later to hang it on the swing set. Since the day that swing went up I have loved that swing set even more. I remember watching my dad hang up the swing and moving the ladder so I could swing for the first time. It's a memory i will never forget.
I watch in sadness every winter as the swings come down because as the cold and snow come my favorite spot goes dormant for at least three months. It's always hard as the end of October comes because i am so set in my ways and like to have things just a certain way. When the swings are down and the frame sits alone my heart aches for their return. As soon as the snow clears comes May I find myself right back in my favorite spot. It's as if my dad hadn't taken the swings down for winter.
If i close my eyes i can see the many times that wooden swing has been a godsend. It's been a spot for tears,anger and happiness. It's the spot i ended up in after loosing my grandmother when i was 17 and the spot where my best friend found me when she got home from work after my mom moved to Colorado. I say it's a spot for happiness because it always seems to take away the tears and anger. It makes everything in my life a little bit better.Sometimes i walk out the backdoor and my feet just take me there as if they know i need to sit and swing for awhile.
When life gets tough sometimes i always feel good knowing I still have my swing. I feel so lucky to have one of the best thinking spots with one of the prettiest views you could ask for. The view is even better if you swing super high.You can see for miles to the tops of hills in the next town across the river. You wouldn't get that view if the swing set was in any other spot in the backyard.
I owe a huge thank you to my dad for giving me my favorite spot. If he hadn't put one of his greatest talents to use it would not exist. With that thanks dad for building the swing set and my swing,i really appreciate it.
