Views From The Trampoline

May 17, 2026

What a strange place the trampoline holds in a family’s life. We recently upgraded to a new model, and it has me in a reflective mood. To be honest, I haven’t enjoyed jumping for a couple of years now. But like so many parents, I do have many treasured memories that happened in the weightless state of a bounce. Here’s a few.

The first happened a day after accomplishing something I had been working at for months. Don’t you love it when that happy relaxation melts over you? All the tension releases in your body, and you wonder how you had carried so much stress for so long. It being a warm day, my daughter wanted to go out on the trampoline. For good measure, we put a sprinkler underneath so that with every bounce, little flicks of water would spray your face and cool your body as you jumped. If you happened to land right in the middle, you would get a large burst of water that could either soak your shorts or firehose your nostrils.

My daughter and I had jumped on that trampoline for several years, but for some reason that afternoon was one that sticks out. Sure, I was relaxed, but more importantly I felt that strong desire to be with family after the long slog. That’s another great result of hard work - the realization that you love and miss your family. Your hugs are longer, your love deeper, and everything just feels right when you are home.

Flip to a couple of years later, and my wife, daughter, and I are standing inside the trampoline, forming a triangle. A soccer ball is in the middle, and we all race to kick it. I think we were playing some sort of goalie game. I don’t even remember the exact rules or how anyone won, but that wasn’t the point. Besides, when the three of us play games, daddy’s always coming in last. I remember this particular evening because of how much we laughed. They kicked the ball straight at me with real intensity. A couple of dodged shots even bounced off the net to come back and hit me in the head, which elicited the loudest laughs from everyone who wasn’t me. It was one of those instances where a five-minute game turned into an hour-long playing session. Then the sun set over our property, lighting up the sky with beautiful pinks and oranges. We bounced, we kicked, we chuckled, and daddy was the butt of every joke. A strong family moment for sure.

The final scene happens on the road. And this is where I’m going to confess to being a very ridiculous person. You see, a friend and I decided to transport the trampoline, but didn’t have the energy to fully take it apart. It’s quite the process, and we were lazy. So my friend and I, being not only in a rush, but arrogant enough to flaunt society’s rules, decided to set the trampoline on top of a trailer and drive it down the road. You might be wondering to yourself, isn’t a trampoline much wider than a trailer? And the answer is yes, it is. Does it stick out into the oncoming traffic lane? You betcha. Sometimes this friend and I revert to being ten-year-olds, but we still have driver’s licenses, so what are you going to do?

The funniest part was a bridge crossing where the trampoline definitely did not fit. It didn’t smash, crash, and fall apart, but we did lose a tiny section to the bridge’s metal structure. Probably my favorite part about that story is that we didn’t tell our wives for quite some time. We did however take a video, knowing someday we would want proof of just how stupid we could be. Isn’t that a great part of marriage? Somehow your idiocracy gets softened if you explain that it happened a year ago instead of last night. I don’t know what part of human psychology that is, but I definitely like it. Don’t get me wrong, I tell my spouse everything, but I might wait until enough time has passed to make my confession a little more palatable to hopefully loving ears.

My favorite thing about this new trampoline is how it has revitalized my joy for jumping. You see, in the last couple of years, it’s turned into much more of a chore to jump with my daughter. Middle-aged back problems have soured my mood. Bouncing, flipping, and landing awkwardly now have repercussions that can last for days or weeks. This meant it became like pulling teeth for me to join her, even though she wanted company so badly.

So for this new trampoline, I got the biggest size that I could. This turned out to be a genius move, because with all that extra space, I find it fun again. We’ve been frequenting the new yard art for many evenings now, always blasting Taylor Swift or Benson Boone as we fly up into the clouds. I even have the option to relax on the side while she attempts new tricks and fancy flips she hopes to integrate into future dance routines. What a creative girl. What a creative space. I thought I lost my fandom, but if the trampoline is going to keep providing solid family moments, I’m going to keep jumping.