The Slack Line.

Last Christmas (Wait. Was that seriously six months ago already?) our kids’ main Christmas present was a zip line.

It’s been jolly good fun.

That gift was part of a concentrated effort to make our yard Fun. We want our kids to play outside. And we want our kids’ friends to want to be out there too.

With those thoughts driving us, Kevin also purchased a slack line.

A slack line is just basically a nylon strap that you cinch between two trees and then you try to walk across the nylon strap – tight rope style. Wild and crazy people string them very high and even attempt stunts from the slack line.

We aren’t those people.

Yet.

We just place it between two trees at a manageable height and form a line and wait our turn.

The slack line turned out to be a big hit on our spring break camping trip with The Beth Babes at Stone Mountain.   (It is stored in a handy little carrying case so transporting it hither and yon is simple.)   Completely unplanned, it served as a wonderful way to keep ten children under age ten directly at a community campsite and completely occupied for most of the weekend. They would create games and challenges to make it harder or sillier.

We’ve been putting it up a lot lately here at home.

Kevin has taken it as a personal challenge to conquer the distance from tree to tree. I’m certain he would appreciate it being made public knowledge that he has, in fact, frequently balanced the distance.

Some kids prefer barefoot success, some shoes. I’m with the shoes-on group.

London has risen to the challenge and has conquered the tree to tree distance. She’s embraced some slack line training of her own and so far our most diligent at practicing to perfect her craft.

We’ve had a few hilarious spills.

Zero kid injuries.

Our friend Brent enjoyed a nice scrape to both his inner leg and his pride.

Kevin is still nursing a tender thumb from a dramatic fall from the slack line. He believes in falling with pageantry. (Kind of like the jersey-clad fellas in the current World Cup competition.)

And – it might be wise to add here – both men with minor injuries were being, uh, over exuberant in front of an audience.

So. There’s that.

The slack line is a great draw in our yard between the oak and the hemlock.

I frequently pick the hammock under the hemlock for my participation as the eye witness.

I have traversed nearly halfway in an embarrassing, barely under control, kind of balancing game.

It isn’t pretty.  I do not look cool.

But it’s fun.

And it’s small enough to take on most any adventure – like our upcoming annual July Fourth celebrations.