Jumping Board

Carl decided that we should go for a family bike ride around Greenlake this evening (I think mostly because he was the one who took apart, transported, and then reassembled all our bikes so that we could have them here and until today, only his had gotten any use). The plan was hatched around 6pm, but by the time we managed to leave our apartment, it was 7:40pm - also known as bedtime. But, this is summer and it's a "month of yes" so off we went. The air was lovely, the scenery beautiful, the kids delighted. My handlebars were a little bit wiggly, but that wasn't a major concern. We got to the lakeside path and Alden, on the tagalong bike, invented the game of waving to everyone and counting how many people he could get to wave back. He thought it was hilarious and spent most of the ride waving and cracking up. He even spotted the guy with the SPANISH LESSONS jacket (who has been walking on the bikepath for years) and as he passed him, shouted, "Hola!" As we came around the loop by the swimming area, Soren caught sight of the "jumping board" and was convinced he wanted to go swimming; Alden instantly agreeing. We got off our bikes and before we could say Starbucks, Alden was in his underwear wading right in and Soren was trying to peel off his clothes. We gave in and all went wading. However, this was not enough. Alden begged Carl to take him to the diving platform where, unbelievably, he jumped in with Carl waiting below (the low board is about 5 feet up from the water) and came up ecstatic. Once he saw his brother, Soren wanted to go, too. Certain that he would balk at the last minute, Carl swam him out there and they walked out on the board together, but Soren was adamant! They jumped together, making Soren at 2 and a half likely the youngest kid to jump. With everyone happy, we decided to quit while we were ahead. The boys were shivering, diaperless, pantsless, and soaking; and it was by then 9:30pm - but they were high with excitement. We climbed back on our bikes with Soren wrapped in Carl's shirt (and Carl wearing only his now-wet shorts) and headed home - only to have my handlebars fall off in my hands. So - Carl and Alden took off for home to pick up our car; while Soren (essentially without clothing) and I said hello to everyone who passed by our bench outside of Peet's Coffeehouse. And without fault, each and every person said hello back and commented on his big, beautiful, blue eyes not even seeming to notice the total randomness of our situation. Oh Seattle - how we will miss you when we leave. Thank you for this wonderful, unexpected, hilarious evening.