Prime Sliding Time

Bannister Sliding- a fine past time of many a young child, including myself until about the age of twelve. When I was younger, it just seemed to make sense that you never walk down the stairs if you can help it. Whenever possible, you slide down the bannister. Almost every morning, when my parents woke me up at some insanely early hour to read scriptures before my sisters went to seminary, I would slide down the bannister, even in my groggy state. I remember always being a trifle disappointed around Christmas time, when my Mom would always put bows on the bannister and thus prohibit me from sliding. That disapointment was short lived, but I was always excted to return to sliding when the boughs were removed in January. I also learned at a young age that there are some bannisters which cannot be slid down. Namely, bannisters attached to walls. When I was about 6 or 7, I was at a friends house when I decided to slide down her bannister. This was indeed a bannister very close to the wall. But I was young and naive, and I truly believed that I would be able to slide through this narrow gap. Afterall, I did have fairly skinny legs back then. As to be expected, I didn't make it very far. I'd barely began to slide whe I got stuck, and my friend's parents had to unwedge a tearful little girl from their wall.
Of course along with the bad bannisters, there is always the good ones. The truly amazing ones are the kind that are log and curve around a huge atrium. This was the kind of bannister at my cousins house. As little kids, my cousin Rachel and I would slide down that bannister again and again. We were devastated when that house came into the possesssion of another aunt and uncle who did not allow us to slide down that magnificent bannister.
So anyway, my point about bannister sliding (cause you're probably wondering what is even the point to this blog) is this; today at work my nanny children were showing off a few "tricks" they could do using the bannister and the wall. They have one of those infuriating bannisters that turns, so it's so short that even if you do try to slide down it, your torso is as long as the bannister. As I watched my young charges show off, I thought to myself, "How sad. These boys will never be able to slide down their own bannister." Which really is quite a sad thing. Sliding down their own bannister is a rite of passage in a child's life. Then I got to thinking about bannisters, and sliding when I was a kid. I realized that the bannister at my old house-the one I moved out of just last week ago, is actually pretty ideal for sliding. It's no Schneiders sweeping staircase, but it's pretty awesome. I also thought of the new, turning bannister at our new house-not so good for sliding. As I drove home, my mind was fully focused on the opportunites I was missing, and bannisters in general. Feeling spontaneous, I took a turn and ended up at my old house. I let myself in, climbed up the stairs, slide down the bannister, locked the door, and drove home. I hadn't slid down a bannister in years. It's not quite the same, but the fact is, I didn't waste a perfectly good bannister.