Day Seventy Three

The Day After

Pap and Gigi are worn out. It's all good. We had a big family blowout yesterday that started with a water slide and ended with a big bang - fireworks - in our own front yard! Six adults and four kids altogether. We're tired and slept like the dead, but it was such a good day, who cares!

I had promised one of my grands-of-the-heart I would get a water slide for the backyard. We had a bounce house for Thanksgiving last year and figured a water slide this time would be great. Well, I started calling places that rent them - last week. Nobody actually laughed at me, but they may as well have. I guess the Fourth is the busiest time for renting water slides. I called everywhere, picturing that cute little face who looks at me like I'm a pudgy, blonde genie, and I panicked. I even considered buying one but knew it wouldn't arrive on time. Plus, it's hard enough trying to explain some of my regular Amazon charges!

I had one number left to call. The guy said they had a smaller slide left. I said I would take it, figuring at least the little kids would have fun. We also had the pool cleaned so the "big kids" would have some fun, too. Now, what these guys call small is anything but! They set it up and I was shocked! It was enormous. I guess some of these water slides can be over 60 feet long! If I had been able to get a big one, it wouldn't have fit in the yard!

No sooner did we get it set up, when the kids arrived. I was in the back room and heard all the squealing! When I walked out, all four of them came running to me and nearly knocked me over with hugs. Those hugs make all the effort worthwhile. They were getting into their bathing suits, when Gigi nearly ruined the whole day.

I happened to notice the extension cord for the waterslide fan was coming unplugged. As I went to secure it, my hand slipped and I hit the switch to turn it off. Oh and I also blew a fuse! Their little faces mirrored the bounce house as both came collapsing down. Pap came running out asking what happened?? Bedlam ensued as all of the grownups tried to get the bounce house back up again. I was fantasizing throwing Viagra at it! Pap finally saved the day by plugging the cord into another outlet. Up went the house, as did the smiles.

The other near fiasco came when Gigi decided to accept the kids' plea to go down the slide. None of the other grownups were around so I said, hey, why not. First of all, I couldn't get into the bounce house. All four kids had to push me in. Then I couldn't get a toe hold to climb the ladder! For somebody who could lift fifty pound bales of hay and horse feed not that long ago, I couldn't do one pushup if dared. All the commotion brought the adults running. While Pap videoed the whole thing, and had 911 ready to dial, my son tried to hoist me up. Not happening. We do have a prize winning video, though.

Throughout the whole day, the cats were in the front room, mainly to keep somebody from escaping. Of course, Dash kept getting out due to curious little people who decided he's the cutest kitten they've ever seen. The bullys were great. They were in our room but able to see all the action. It wasn't until the firecrackers started when Jack finally lost it.

Our son is in charge of the fireworks display. When he and his sister were little, we used to pile into the car and sit in a parking lot outside of Universal Studios where we could enjoy their fireworks without the crowds. The parking lot is gone now, and we're too old to care. So, when we have a celebration requiring a fireworks display (New Year's and the Fourth) our son puts one on in our front yard. Last night's was the best ever. It's so much fun to see the little ones get excited when Dad sets one off. They like to come back to tell me he still has his hands whenever there's a dud! I kept running back to the house to check on Jack. He was bothered but seemed to be okay in our room. Rooney was unfazed; snoring away.

Our family get-togethers are so much fun. Everybody in our group now is happy and there's very little drama. Oh, every once in awhile, a kid gets upset with another one, but they work it out and order is restored. And then there's the tiny guy with the huge personality. He's three now, and is quite the character. His Mom put him down for a nap in the cats' room. I don't think he napped at all. I went in the room later and was stunned when I saw the top platform of the cat tree was on the floor - broken clean off. It's heavy so I was worried one of the cats had done it and gotten hurt. I never imagined what really happened.

When I went out to the porch and told my daughter and son's girlfriend about it, the little guy fessed up. He said, "I did it. I climbed on it and it broke and I hurt my head." All three of us just blinked in astonishment. First of all, that he confessed and second that he got hurt but didn't say anything! We just sat there imagining all of the possibilities including that he could have gone out the window! All things considered, we were lucky. No broken bones, or lightning strikes, or concussions. It was a great day.