Jumpoline

October is almost half over? Life is speeding along, whether I pause to write about it or not. Sometimes events come and go in a way that reminds me of driving past objects (a house, a cow, roadkill, a tree, etc.) at high speed on the highway. If I focus only on the object ahead as the car approaches, it seems to stand still all the way until the car is right next to it, then it suddenly whips by and is out of sight in the blink of an eye. That's how our days and activities feel right now. In that brief pause before the moment whips by out of sight, I usually try to snag a picture so that the event or moment isn't completely forgotten. Then I try to tell the story and caption the pictures here on the blog. But the speed limit on life's highway keeps increasing, and moments keep on whipping past faster and faster, till I can't keep up with the captions and stories! Here's one tiny sliver of a moment from ten days ago. 

Amber calls the trampoline the jumpoline, and I've got to hand it to her, it makes a lot more sense. It is for jumping, after all. One of my favorite ways to take pictures of my kids is to get on the jumpoline with them. Admittedly it is a challenge taking close-range pictures of moving targets while I'm bouncing too, but I usually manage a couple of keepers. I love the natural joy that kids have in PLAY. Jumping, running, kicking leaves, playing tag--the trampoline makes magic. One day crisp sunny fall day last week, Amber and I jumped, chased, and played on the tramp before heading inside for a drink and a rest. Then we made bread together. We were both happy to be fully engaged and with each other in the moment. Amber's free roving spirit thrives off of one-on-one attention. I thrive off of her contagious grin and unquenchable curls.

When she jumps up, her curls go UP. 

 When she lands, her curls flatten out. It is mesmerizing to watch.

 Curls down

 BOING, back up they go! 

Pure mischief. 

We accidentally zoomed in while taking a huggy selfie, but I love it anyways.

That FACE! 

 And that one!