Day 836 - #SwingWrite

Hi, I'm a Member's Mark 40" Webbed Nest Swing. That might be excessively specific so you can call me a swing if you would rather.

Up until a week ago, I was without a home. I lived in a giant box at a store called Sam's Club alongside many other Member's Mark 40" Webbed Nest Swings. It goes without saying that is no way for a swing to live. Instead of dangling from a branch, my brethren and I were instead stacked vertically in a tight box with little to no sunshine bursting in. 

As the spring moved on and summer emerged in its place, I began to worry there would be no forever home for me. Fortunately I was mistaken. Finally the time came where a nice couple gently plucked me from my cardboard prison and lovingly placed me inside a cart. As they wheeled me to the checkout counter, I overheard them say, "Ellie is going to be so excited!". All I could think is "Who's Ellie?" and "I wonder if she'll like me."

After being purchased, I had grand dreams of immediate use. After all, everyone knows that the sole purpose of a swing, especially a Member's Mark 40" Webbed Nest Swing, is to provide joy and love to all who sit upon it. It was obvious that I couldn't succeed in doing so while stuffed in the back of a car. Finally though, the day arrived. The couple who purchased me said it was time for me to be delivered.

After what seemed like an eternity, a man opened the trunk and picked me up. Then, holding me tightly under his arm, he climbed up a set of steps while a woman rang the doorbell. "Ding dong, ding dong." The door opened and I was carried inside where I finally laid eyes on her. It was my girl. The one called Ellie. 

The first thing I noticed was that she was much smaller than the couple that had purchased me. However, her excitement for me was much more palpable than any I had seen before. She continually peppered one of the taller people with words. "Daddy, can we swing now? Can we? I want to swing. Please?" That man began to carefully remove the packaging I came with and untied my hanging straps. This was it! The moment I had longed for was about to come. 

I was carried through a different set of doors and found myself outside again under a leafy green tree. The man carried me outside and stood on a step stool while wrapping my hanging straps around a branch. Once my straps were secure, he hooked my frame to them and gave me a quick push. I was flying! Then, before I knew what had happened, he jerked my rope and brought me to a sudden stop. I couldn't believe it. All of my longing and waiting to swing and it was squelched just like that. Then, I heard him ask, "Are you ready to swing, Ellie?" 

The little girl bounded across the grass and scampered up onto my steel frame. Then, she tightly wrapped her hands around my webbing while smiling at the man. Then, he gave us a push. This time though, there was no jerking of my rope. Instead, just consistent gentle pushes. Higher and higher we went, until finally, the pushes slowed and Ellie climbed off.

As the people headed back inside, Ellie turned to me and said, "We'll swing again, soon!". Since that day a week ago, Ellie and I have been inseparable. In fact, our time spent together can already be totaled in hours instead of minutes. Ellie isn't the only family member I've experienced a closeness with over the past week though. 

On that first night, a tall woman, the one Ellie called "Mommy," spent over an hour gently rocking back and forth on me while talking with a friend. She's since spent time rocking back and forth on my steel frame alongside Ellie and an even smaller child called Ethan. Speaking of Ethan, even though he's small in stature, he is quite loving. He even spent one afternoon fast asleep on my webbing as I gently breezed through the air. On one occasion, even the man Ellie called "Daddy" couldn't resist a brief ride at the insistence of her tiny pleas.

A week into life as Ellie's swing, this Member's Mark 40" Webbed Nest Swing can hardly imagine life before my little girl and her family. In fact, I begin to wonder about the years ahead. With any luck, I'll still be in tip-top shape. Maybe a new rope or two will be in the cards but I have no intentions of abandoning my Ellie. My favorite thing to imagine is those quiet times that I'll hopefully share with Ellie a few years from now as she curls up in my webbing and reads a book as we gently rock back and forth. 

Until then, as Ellie says, I hope we have plenty of opportunities to "GO SUPER HIGH!!!"

#SwingWrite