JUMP TO IT

An unassembled trampoline has Kate flipping out

Who knew something as simple as a trampoline could elicit so many hours of fun? We had a trampoline when the big kids were little, but they outgrew it. It soon became an eyesore in the garden, with its broken springs and weeds growing up all around it, so we got rid of it. But my youngest was still little when that happened.

She was upset that it was gone before she’d had her chance to learn the big tricks like the other kids. We promised “one day” we’d get another one, but as is so often the case, that “one day” turned into never. We forgot, she forgot, time moved on and so did we. But we recently moved to a place with more land and as my daughter was doing her gymnastics tricks in a paddock of grass one day, she said, “You know what we need, Mum? A trampoline. That way, I could practise my flips on a softer surface.”

I couldn’t say no given it was a good idea, we had plenty of space for it and she was genuinely keen to use it. I ordered one online and it was shipped the very next day. Too easy. “It comes in three boxes – it’s no worries to assemble,” the trampoline seller told me.

“Hmm,” I muttered, unsure of my flat-pack abilities when it comes to 4.2 metres of trampoline. “Don’t you have someone who could assemble it for me?” I asked timidly.

“Not in your area, sorry,” he said. “But trust me, I’ve had single mums with head torches on in the dark on Christmas Eve assemble these things by themselves, it’s that easy.”

Massive kudos to any solo mother assembling anything overnight with a head torch on, but I was not convinced. I could see myself with an Allen key, and a million screws, springs and bits of black rubber, just being in a total flap.

“Who could I get to assemble a trampoline?” I asked my husband.

“What do you want a trampoline for?” he asked like I was going mad.

“Never mind,” I replied, hitting Google. Turns out finding someone to assemble a trampoline is not that easy.

The day of its arrival, I still had no-one to assemble it. As the delivery truck rolled in and dropped off the three huge boxes, I stared at them dismayed. How could I do this?

Luckily, due to large doses of country kindness, I was able to enlist the help of a local, his mate and their kids, plus a couple of our kids and one of the neighbours. Before I knew it, we had a crack squad assembling the tramp. My daughter was so excited, it was barely finished before she was jumping on it with the neighbours, breathless from all the jumps and flips.

I went back inside to dish out biscuits and wine to the helpers. But as darkness fell, my daughter had still not come back inside. Eaten by mosquitoes, slightly sunburnt and very sweaty, this novelty was not wearing off any time soon. Turns out a trampoline is worth every cent.