Tire Swings!

When I was a little girl, I spent hours on our tire swing.  It hung from a branch about half-way up on the old gnarly walnut tree by the crick. 

With a of couple hefty pushes, dad could have me sailing out over the crick in a lazy twist that had me whooping with delight.  Most little girls might giggle or squeal.  But I was more of a tom-boy.  :)

I can remember spending hours on that swing with the little boy my mom babysat.  One of us would be on the swing.  And the other would be pushing, or throwing walnuts into the pond on the other side of the crick.  We had so much fun!

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I shared with you a picture of my youngest son in a friend’s tire swing.  My boys all thought that swing was awesome and it brought back tons of fond memories.  So I asked my girlfriend where she got the tire, and she offered us one just like it that they weren’t using.  How awesome was that?

My husband and I walked the yard, looking for a good spot, and settled on a young oak in the back yard.

Then we went to Lowes and found a rope with the kind of braid that doesn’t come apart when twisted.  My husband called it a Sampson braid. 

When I did a search on what kind of rope to use on a tire swing, many sites said to use a thick rope (obviously!).  But none addressed what kind of braid to look for—and what not to use. 

And to us, the kind of braid is just as important as the strength of the rope.  You DON’T want a braid (like the one on the left) that can come apart or untwisted as the swing spins, leaving gaps.  A child could get part of his body caught in the loops--which could be serious—or even deadly.  I know of a young family who lost a son because he became entrapped in his tire swing.  And it will always break my heart to think about.

The rope on the right is what we chose. 

Since it stays nice and shady where we hung the swing, the boys and their friends can enjoy it even when it’s steaming hot.  Sometimes two at a time!  :) 

They love to spin. 

Sometimes they get to spinning so fast I don’t know how they can stand it! 

They are busy making memories.  :)

What is something you have fond childhood memories of doing when you were little?