The sun was out and the troops were playing in the garden so I had no excuse I could use for not cleaning out the car. I'd been putting it off for the last few weeks since before our trip to the beach a few weekends back and it was in desperate need of some TLC. The floor was covered in sand and there was wrappers, bits of Lego and clothing everywhere, it was a mess. It thankfully didn't take long to sort out though which was great. As I opened the boot and looked inside ready to sort that out too I felt quite proud at what stared back at me. It really is a family car and the inside of our boot just proves that.
The Micro scooters are amazing how they fold down so small which has been great for making sure there is always space for them when we're off on our adventures. They have been awesome to have since Seth's bike has got to big for the car. They've quickly become one of the most played with things since the sun decided to start warming everywhere up.
Our boards from Native skate have their own spot too between the pads and the wellies (gotta make sure you have wellies in the car). Seth has started his own personal rota of Scooter, Skateboard, Scooter, Skateboard which is cute. He doesn't want to hurt one of their feelings if he plays with the other more.
Theres usually changes of clothes, fishing nets and buckets and spades which will be back in there soon. You have to be prepared for anything when you are adventuring with the likes of Seth and Opeie. They are so much fun to spend time with and i love that there is a boot full of goodies to keep them entertained now that we are heading towards summer. I'm really looking forward to some serious summer adventuring.
When I was around 9 I had a harsh telling off from my mom. I say harsh but that's more how it felt back then, it clearly wasn't a huge milestone in my life or I'd have remembered the conversation word for word. It was probably something minor like 'your rooms a mess' or 'you're back late where have you been?', but that day I felt a rage I had never felt before and decided I was leaving and never coming back! So what do you take when your a child leaving home with no intention of coming back? A backpack full of chocolate and biscuits, a compass, Devil bangers, my favourite he -man figures and last but not least the one thing I couldn't be without, my neon green Ghostbusters skateboard. As I walked away with my backpack on and my board supported nicely between my back and backpack I felt pretty cool not to mention adamant I would stick with my decision.
I called on my two best friends Paul Kenny and Kelly Valentie (no idea whatever happened to them pair) and we headed to our tree house (which was more just a tree that we climbed up that me and Paul had cleverly propped a really big piece of guttering we found on, which stuck out of the side of the tree so that we could wee down it (it's what boys do). Clearly Kelly wanted no part in our urine extraction plans (a true lady).
The relevance of the story isn't the argument or the tree house and it definitely Isn't the homemade toilet, the story is about the skateboard. My lifeline, in my head it was my way of getting further away from home, faster. For a 9year old it opened up my world much the same as getting my driving licence. Seth loves all my stories from my past and most nights as I am tucking him in he asks me to tell him one. My skateboard pops up more times than I can mention between the ages of 8-11 and Seth has been desperate to get in on some four wheeled adventures.
After having a chat with the genuinely great guys over at Native Skate Store they aggree'd to send out two Tricks Skateboards for myself and Seth to begin our adventures and for me to relive my wonder years. Seth looked so excited when he saw them, they are great boards and for a starter board for Seth they are awesome. Nativeskatestore.co.uk have a great selection of boards and accessories and since finding them i have come up with another great idea for a future post over the summer, which i'm really looking forward to.
Some people may say that with Seth's muscle condition skateboarding would be a little irresponsible but if these people were to say this to Seth he would tell you about the 'blind skater'. i had no idea who he was talking about until i Googled it and found Tommy Carroll, it's great to know that these are the sort of videos they show the children in school for sports relief, proving in many cases there's no need to limit yourself, anything is possible...
Its good for Seth to have a goal and we will always embrace whatever he is aiming towards. Since Seth has been talking about skateboarding he has always said he wants me to skate with him (hence the second board), its going to be a lot of fun and another great way for me and Seth to bond. Although Laura goes in to over protective mommy mode sometimes with the boys, we both feel that we shouldn't hold Seth back. He's no different to most children his age, he wants to adventure and who are we to stop him? He will always have one of us right next to him so there's no cause for concern.
Because of Seth's operation we'd not had a chance to get out on the boards until today and Seth was itching to get out. The fear of split stitches was far more important though. I'll be honest he really surprised me how well he balanced on the board and although he needs me standing next to him for support he did a great job. I really loved the chuffed look he had on his face 'ive got a skateboard and i feel cool' and rightly so he looked awesome.
I'm fortunate to know some great skaters and even got chatting to a woman at Opeie's dance class recently who used to be sponsored and is making a new video at the moment. I think this is just the start of our posts about skateboarding and thanks to Native Skate Store Seth is feeling confident and excited. This should be a great summer for us boys and our new hobby and hopefully I can help Seth create adventure stories of his own to pass down the generations.
