Swinging

As a kid, I was always in motion; I never stopped moving.  My sweet daughter was like that when she was little, too.  She could not even sit in a chair without falling out!  =)  When I went to school, I lived for recess so I could be swinging on the swing set.  When I got a little older, my favorite thing was to climb the monkey bar, throw one leg over, and go round and round for as long as I could.  I was not afraid of anything.  At night, I would bounce my head on my pillow until I fell asleep.

We moved to another city when I was 10 and, although I didn't play on the monkey bars as I had, I still loved motion and swinging was my favorite thing to do.  Since I loved to run, I thought I might join the track team in junior high, but that never happened.  I was in marching band from seventh grade through my senior year in high school and I loved it.  I was in motion, one way or another, all my childhood.

I still love to be in motion and swinging is still my favorite.  When I had my babies, an aunt gave us a rocking chair and I spent many happy hours rocking my babies.  When standing and holding my kids, I developed the 'mom-sway' swaying back and forth.  When my kids were little and we would go to the park, I would swing with them.  When we moved in 2000, we had a large patio in our back yard, so I got a porch swing.  Oh, how I LOVED that swing!  I would sit outside in all kinds of weather and swing!  Often I would have a dog sitting beside me.  If it was storming, I would pretend to direct the strikes of lightning as I would swing.  My sister was visiting once when I did that and she called me Merlin.  

We moved again in 2013 (three times!), and I had to leave behind my beloved swing.  I hated leaving it.  When we finally got settled in the house we live in now, we had no money for anything besides rent, bills, and a little food.  There was no hope of getting a swing here.  We struggled financially, even though I was working.  Through my quiet times with God, I felt compelled to quit my job.  After I quit, finances became easier but there was still no money for a swing.

This year, I mentioned on my Facebook page how much I missed my swing.  A couple weeks later, a huge box was delivered to my door.  My sweet son and his sweet wife got me a swing for Mother's Day!  That weekend, Mike put it together and I have been swinging ever since.  

There is something soothing and healing about the motion of swinging.  I am not really sure what it is, but it soothes something in my brain.  If I am tense, I swing fast; if I am calm, I swing more slowly.  But every day I swing. I am so very grateful to my kids for giving me that swing.  And grateful to God for orchestrating the gift.