A New Generation of Obstacle Course Runners

Do you remember those good old days of running our obstacle course in the backyard? If I remember right, it started by running up the slide, then across the top of the playset. Then you would jump down the ladder (I don't remember doing the monkey bars?) then jumping over the other ladder on the other side. Next you bounce across the trampoline and then climb up the front porch. After scampering across the front porch you would jump off the other side and dash down the side of the house to the finish line by the slide where someone was waiting with a stop watch. This all took about a minute. I don't remember who was the fastest. But I do remember being keeper of the stop watch most of the time.

I was thinking about this fabulous course the other night while watching Superkid and Abizella chase in circles about their new play house. They were so cute; Superkid was blazing the pathway with Abizella nipping at his heals. About half the time the cycle would end in a dog pile. I don't knw who was laughing harder, the kids or us. Sometimes, as a kid, I would think of all the disadvantages of having lots of brothers and sisters. But in the end the advantages always outweighed the disadvantages. Wasn't it great to always have someone to play with? Even if you were currently not getting along with one of the siblings, there were plenty of others to hook up with. And on Sundays when we weren't aloud to play with friends we still had a good time playing together, even if the games escalated to tears. Good times.