Zippin'

We took the kids (and a couple of friends) garage sale-ing last weekend. Pre-kids, Jeff and I used to enjoy this Saturday morning outing, so we thought it was time to give Julia and Brighton the experience of rummaging through someone else's junk. It was Brighton who had the hardest time grasping the idea of a "garage sale". Since he is not afraid to end a sentence with a question mark, the inquisition started Friday afternoon after his daily question of, "Where are we going in the morning?" and it did not stop until he walked up to his first table of junk. Then it all clicked. His questions paid off because he definitely got the most for his money throughout the morning. Unfortunately, his first purchase of a miniature porcelain Christmas boot was dropped on the pavement just as he was pulling his hand back from handing the man his quarter. He dropped his head and shoulders simultaneously but before I could start the whole "maybe we can glue it" speech, he lifted his head with eyes wide and said, "I know where 'nother one is." Sure enough, he marched me down the short driveway to the back of the stranger's garage and pointed to another red boot on the table. How about that? Happy again with little red boot in hand, he handed the man another quarter and promptly asked me to carry it. Julia had hit the Christmas table as well and now was the proud owner of a ceramic box with two cardinals perched on top. First dollar spent. Brighton's second purchase at another sale was an electric train set that works (and whistles!)for a dollar. I have a feeling the price was influenced by the time of day and the July heat beginning to bounce off the pavement.

Last stop. It’s getting close to noon. Buyers and sellers are ready for the morning to be over. This particular seller still had a little bit of “rah, rah” in her, so she asked Jeff if he needed a zip line. (Needed?) So while I sorted through books with Julia, Jeff got roped into buying a zip line for $4. By the way, Brighton had found his dream come true in a brown New Balance shoe box: 101 things that communicated caution, danger, do not enter – every road work, construction paraphernalia imaginable, all for the low price of $2.00 and all to be found under his bed for the next 5 years. Back to the zip line- I tried not to get anyone too excited about this garage sale find. Yes, it sounded like great fun, but how many garage sale purchases really deliver? Once we were home, Jeff got to work while I made lunch. He mounted it between two trees with great success. (Looked just like a regular clothes line) The kids easily climbed up on a chair to reach the handle, jumped off and LOVED it. However, moments later, a wave of testosterone rolled into our backyard and sent Jeff to Lowe’s for a longer cable, so the kids could “zip” longer turning our $4 garage sale purchase into a $24 enhanced garage sale purchase. When he was finished with all the enhancing, it looked like a telephone wire or maybe a clothesline for a slew of squirrels. (Notice our roof line.) This time the kids had to put on their bike helmets, climb our tallest ladder with Jeff’s help, tentatively grab the handle, close their eyes, confess all their sins and jump. Absolute fun! Take a look.