As one end of the seesaw was quickly rising off the ground, the other end was equally dropping, and for the moment, Ella and Jim — smiling and laughing — joined in a friendly, cautious, and calculating contest that tested their trust of each other. They recognized their equal power to send the other slamming to the earth and that neither of them wanted to experience the thunk.

Shortly after, another competition was on. Max and Jim — smiling and laughing — joined in a friendly, spirited, and enthusiastic race, pumping their feet with an ever-faster kick, unsure if the prize went to who could swing higher or who would jump first.

Remember the joy of old-fashioned play?

Sadly, “old-fashioned” is an appropriate word to describe playing on a seesaw or swing — equipment missing from many parks today due to risk, insurance, and potential litigation.

And yet, the Comfort, TX city park has a row of “unsafe” playground equipment — seesaws, swings, monkey bars, and, oh my, a metal slide!

My youngest sister, Janine, and her family, Ella, Max, and Ralph, recently visited us from Colorado. From the ranch, we piled in the Ranger and drove to “downtown” Comfort to play in the park and enjoy the day.

An open-air Ranger ride to town has only the route in common with a car drive to town.

Sun shining in your face, crisp air blowing on your cheeks, wind whipping through your hair, and the rumbling sound of heavy-tread tires rotating on the country road lends a closeness to the surrounding scenery and affords a deeper connection to everything you pass.

The scene brings on a flashback to years of summer fun when Lauren and I would load our five kids, together with towels, floats, and coolers, and head to town for ice cream, stopping at the Guadalupe river and every creek water crossing along the way.

We always stopped to play at the Comfort city park.

All the kids have experienced the thunk.

In those days, the Fisher and Greenwood families shared part of the Lost Madrone Ranch and our families are not “like” family, we are family.

Luckily, our kids were young before kids had cell phones and we purposefully have no television at the ranch. Thank goodness.

What kid remembers their best day watching television?

Instead, ranch days were filled with work, exploration, adventure, and all-out screaming.

I’m not talking about the fighting or hurting kind of screaming, although actually there was a lot of that too, but I am referencing the all-out screaming of fun, and delight, and joy — a sound so alive, so unrestrained, and so spontaneous that it defines pure exhilaration.

A reader shared that she opened the Happy Fathers Day post on Take Comfort over and over again to view the tractor video and just hear the high-pitched screams of unleashed childhood happiness. You can’t watch it and not smile! If you missed it, take a look, or take another look and smile.

 

Similarly, our rides to town resembled that Sound of Music moment when Maria and the children, dressed in drapery, were rowing on the lake, happily singing, and the boat flips over casting everyone in the water causing an outburst of exuberant laughter and smiles and screams. (It’s an easy-to-find YouTube video to view.)

While not dressed in drapes, the Fisher and Greenwood kids were a sight when we rode to town. I guarantee the kids were covered in dirt, wore mismatched clothes, and sported unbrushed hair — and the flapping of floats hanging out the back of the vehicle, brightly colored beach towels wrapped around the roll-bar, and, mostly, the commotion from five kids screaming with joy elicited smiles from everyone we passed.

Watching Ella and Max enjoying the Ranger ride and playing in the Comfort park reminded me of the past ranch days of play.

Alexandra, Jimmy, Jack, Kate, and Andrew — boy, do you know how to play!

Andrew, the youngest of the Fisher children, turned 14 this week. Happy Birthday!

Andrew, you are always happy and good-natured, playful and fun-loving, filled with curiosity and spirit, and, Andrew, you are always a good sport — even when your four older siblings tell you during a game of hide and seek that “only the cool kids are it!”

You just wanted to play.

Your toys are bigger now,

and the ranch fun is of a different sort.

Your mark on your godparents is forever.

Keep letting your untroubled cares of childhood shape your character, and never be too grown up to play.

A couple years ago, Jim told me to keep my Saturday calendar open. Only upon arrival in the Rollercade parking lot did he reveal that rollerskating was our appointment ahead. Yes, it was a bit embarrassing as we entered the rink and parents from our kids’ school were picking up their children from a morning session birthday party, prompting quizzical looks and questions of “what are you doing here?” What a flashback, whizzing around the rink, uninhibited by the on-looking adults wondering where our kids were. I’ll never forget the fun of that day, which included a few exhilarating screams.

When was the last time you screamed with joy? When was the last time you felt the exhilaration from play? When was the last time you played?

Find time this week and go play!