We did it!

And by “we” I mean “My Father-In-Law Don Jacklich.” For the last week, I’d been having nightly nightmares. I’d wake up, covered in sweat, desperately clutching my appendages while screaming, “No! Adventure Playsets Trail Blazer Wooden Swing Set!”

But I encountered two, count ‘em two miracles this week. One named Diana Hamann and one named Don Jacklich.

Through the marvel that is Craig’s List, Diana found the exact same Adventures Playsets Trail Blazer Wooden Swing Set (APTBWSS) in a nearby suburb. Already put together. All we’d have to do is break it down into manageable pieces and move it across the suburbosphere.

Enter Don Jacklich.

We cruised out to the APTBWSS in Diana’s brother’s truck. After listening to the previous owner describe how awful it was to construct the APTBWSS and how hard it is to re-attach thumbs, Don said, “Ricky, go fetch my tools.”

By the time I came back from the truck, the thing was completely dismantled. The previous owner stood there, ashen faced. He said, “There was a puff of smoke and a sharp crack of lightening and…and…” The man backed away from Don, frightened.

Don just dusted his hands and said, “Go call your wife. Tell her Union rules demand two chilled beers before we put this back together.”

We.

The re-construction was only slightly more difficult. Mostly because Elijah was so excited by the prospect of a swing set in the back yard that he cried hysterically. Don would sometimes allow me the honor of tightening a bolt. Much in the same way you let a child tap a hammer on a discarded two by four.

Needless to say, Eli loves the APTBWSS, And I get to keep all my appendages.