>My parents are pretty lenient with me when it comes to chores.>Wash my own dishes, put my cloths in the washing machine and that’s about it.>They even fold them for me.>An apology for being too rough with me as a kid I think.>But there is still one chore I do anally, and even if they offered too do it for me I’d still do it myself.>Every year on the first snowfall my trampoline must be taken down. The constant weight of the snow will cause it to stretch and warp otherwise.>If I don’t the cloth will stretch causing it to loose tension and you’ll have to work harder to jump and it won’t be nearly as satisfying to use. A while of that and you need to buy a new net and springs, years of neglect the frame will buckle and you just have to get a whole new trampoline at that point.>When I was a kid my trampoline was my safe space, if my parents were being hard on me or school was stressing me out I’d just climb on in and get lost in my imagination. The weight on my shoulders disappearing in the momentary weightlessness of zero g.>I’d imagine fantasy worlds with wacky characters and if I was angry I’d imagine those characters tearing people apart until the anger brought me to tears or mental exhaustion.>My therapists at the time told my parents that they shouldn’t bother me or attempt to “correct my behavior” while I use it and that its healthy for kids to have a private safe space. To their credit they didn’t.> I’m in my early 20’s now and I’ve never grown out of the thing, it is still my safe space, a place for me to unwind, and now that I think about it my sole source of exercise.>Today is the first snow of winter.
>I imagine this is how a farmer feels when they have to put down their favorite milk cow, something you’ve taken care of for a long time and has taken care of you for a long time. But the only thing you can do to help it now is one last betrayal. Ultimately replaceable.>I shovel the snow off it and use it one last time but just shy of satisfaction so I don’t tire myself out before the task to come.>Since my trampoline is my only source of exercise my legs are surprisingly muscular but my upper body strength is lacking. I slide the protective mat out of the way exposing the cold metal springs and begin the arduous process of yanking on them one by one, there’s around a hundred of them and it’s an exhausting process. It’s dangerous too, and I’ve cut the shit out of my hands doing it in the past. Whatever machine pinches off the metal wire when manufacturing them sometimes leaves a little tag that gets stuck on the frame of the trampoline when you try to remove it. Sometimes my weak grip or a false sense of security will get the better of you before the tension suddenly releases taking a big chunk of your skin with it, or in this case my glove. One time it almost got my wrist.>Once the last spring from the base is out and thrown into the bucket, I hoist myself up to reach the ones holding up the net being careful not to slip on the icy frame. Then when that’s done, I drag the massive, and spitting definition of cumbersome, net into the basement where I just have to hope mice don’t eat it for the next 4 months.
>It’s not cathartic.>Winter is the hardest time of year for me, mental and physically.>The frame stays up year round and just serves to frustrate me whenever I look at it.>Sometimes it feels like the chair at my desk is sucking the life out of me, or like the gravity is just that much stronger whenever I sit in it.>But I don’t know what else to do with my time. And my burnt in behaviors lead my back here every time I get board, like a lamb to the slaughter.>Recently I’ve taken an interest in personal aviation.>I want to fly.
>>2852131It must suck to be a retarded fag
People wrap old trampoline frames in wire to make an easy DIY chicken coop.
>>2852149 That's the perfect use case for one of those really shitty ones. Some of my neighbors when I was a kid also had trampolines and they would sag after a year of light use, like what's even the point if you're spending less than a few thousand on a trampoline you're throwing.
>>2852164 #That's the perfect use case for one of those really shitty ones. Some of my neighbors when I was a kid also had trampolines and they would sag after a year of light use, like what's even the point if you're spending less than a few thousand on a trampoline you're throwing.
>>2852131>But there is still one chore I do anally, and even if they offered too do it for me I’d still do it myself.
>>2852131>Trampoline>TrampIt used to be called a JUMPoline until your mom jumped on it.
