Blastoff! The three-year-old twins at my side stand frozen to the ground as they watch their rocket take off from the makeshift launch pad in awe. The twins are Kyla and Ally two of my most frequent clients interested in everything and anything. As a babysitter, my job is to keep them happy.
It was a beautiful July day; the temperature a constant 75 degrees with nothing but a few cirrus clouds in the sky, and virtually no wind speed. “Beautiful day to fly” I thought as I prepared for the upcoming babysitting job. I am out of ideas. What else could I possibly do with a couple of TV-loving three year olds? I packed my backpack and walked towards the door of my bedroom. As I neared the door, I tripped over something hard and rectangular. “Curses,” I mumbled under my breath as I looked to find the object that tripped me. It was my model rocketry kit I had left out from the launch the night before. Perfect! I grabbed the handle, and ran all the way down the street to the twins’ house.
Kyla and Ally always enjoy my Magic School Bus DVDs why not show them something exciting in real life?
I knocked on the door and their mom, Tara, let me in. Breathing heavily and excited beyond belief Tara and I went to the kitchen where we found the two girls.
“What’s that,” they inquired. “We’re going to launch a rocket today,” I replied. Just like the magic school bus.
Immediately we began construction on the rocket. My enthusiasm was infectious and the girls eagerly helped glue the rocket pieces together and put decals on the body tube.
After an hour of letting the glue dry, the rocket was ready and we grabbed the launch pad, engine, and rocket and went to find a suitable place for launch.
The walk was short to an empty lot a few houses down the street, and we set up our things. I taught the girls how to find the wind direction and launch the rocket accordingly. Kyla asked, “Can I blast it off?”
So we counted. Three…….two……..one……….blastoff!
The rocket shot into the air and left the twins frozen with their right pointer fingers pointing to the sky. The silence did not last long as the twins jumped up and down chanting, “do it again, do it again!” Unfortunately I used cheap glue on the rocket so it disintegrated shortly after launch. The fact I was short a rocket didn’t bother me at all.
The twins had the time of their lives.