With Your Fist Holding Tight…
Today I flew a kite.
I haven’t flown a kite since I was about 8 years old. It turns out that you don’t forget how. Not really.
I walked the yard with the wind at my back, and I held the kite in front of me loosely while I waited for it to catch ahold of the wind. When it did I let go of it and started to feed out the string. Feed-tug. Feed-tug. When it finally caught I started to back up quickly, and it took off.
It soared.
Livvie went bananas.
Today was perfect kite weather. It was overcast, so there was no sun glare to bother us, and the wind was perfect. Gusty, but not too heavy. I stayed in the center of the front yard as much as I could. When the wind would die or change direction I’d run top speed to keep the kite aloft until it caught the wind again. Otherwise I just kept ahold of the handle with one hand and used one finger on the other hand to direct it.
As I first let it loose I wondered about kite eating trees, and it turned out that the 15 ft thorny tree of undetermined species right next to the driveway was happy to nosh on it. The wind died, the kite careened down, and before I could start to run it slammed into the branches and caught on the thorns. I did say aloud, “Well shit,” right in front of Livvie, and as I turned to tell her we’d have to get it down later because we had no ladder the wind gusted again, smacked into the kite, and the tree spat it out into the sky again.
After that I kept it flying for 40 straight minutes.
Flying a kite is an unbelievable workout for your arms. The resistance that’s put into play is enough to feel good afterward but not enough to make you want to break out the Icy Hot.
It takes thought, and problem solving skills, and an understanding of how aerodynamics work, but it uses those things in such a way that you don’t even realize you’re applying them.
It creates joy and wonder.
And they cost $3.04 right now at Target. I’m assigning homework. Go. All of you who need to take a few moments to just BE right now. Go buy a kite. It’s March. It’s tradition. When was the last time you flew one?
Thirty years was too long for me.
EDIT- Go to NOAA to check the forecasted wind speeds in your area.
13 Responses to “With Your Fist Holding Tight…”
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- - March 17, 2010
Are You Gonna Eat That? by Julie Summerell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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oh Rick and I used to live with a HUGE park behind us and we flew kites all the time…once he had this SHARK kite and it got stuck on a tree and the rope snapped…the tree was flying that shark kite for ages, we laughed so hard. What an amazing early marriage memory
i miss flying a kite, I’m gonna go get me one this weekend!!! of course, it is still freaking winter here, but I will have it At The Ready)
Were you a Hazard Girl back then too? If so, I blame you for the tree eating the shark.
We’ve tried a couple of times recently but haven’t been successful – only 2 or 3 minutes at a time. We’re planning a trip to our not-too-distant beach this week or next to see if we fare better there. And you’re right – it IS joyful and wondrous, for both kids and kids at heart.
Have a blast! It’s just so much fun. Oh, and I lied. By midnight I wanted to cut my arms from my body and beat myself with them.
That’s a vague move in date .you may find the ideal renter, but if you have to etxnede the move-in date, they’ll just find another place that is ready .., or worse, you sign a lease w/ them, and can’t let them move in ..you’ll be paying for their hotel, and expenses ..While a sign in your yard is free running an ad can be pricey you’re hoping to find an ideal tenant who is flexible with their move-in date??? That is unreasonable this far out ..Financially speaking, two 1/2 months out w/ no definitive move in date, is a waste of everyone’s time I would wait until you can provide an EXACT move in date ..
Yes, the beach is the best place for them! I used to have a 30 foot dragon kite when I was a kid and haven’t seen anything cooler than that! Great write!
Well hello there! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Followed your link back and plan to do some reading later.
Oh, thank you. Have fun.
Yes!
I am looking forward with great delight to my next day off from work to get my homework assignment done. It’s supposed to be a nice 60 degree day on wednesday and I now know what my little boy and I will be doing all afternoon.
Thank you for the great idea. I, like you, haven’t flown a kite since I was a child but I will be fixing that soon.
Hi, and welcome! I popped over to your blog, and although I only read a couple of posts so far I can tell you’re totally smitten with your son. That’s really awesome to see.
I’ll be reading some more later.
9 months in the hospital. Poor kid. And poor parents. That had to drive you nutty. They had Livvie in the nursery for a few hours when they found her heart murmur, and I wanted to bust down the door to get to her.
I hadn’t flown a kite for years until my kids got to be about three years old I guess. Since then, we break out the kites as soon as the spring winds kick up. You’re right, it males you feel awesome
Hey I’m interested in set up a rs feed from your site to another blog. How should I go about this ??