Daredevil Makes Leap From Dresser to Bed

IN THE BEFORE TIMES, we had Kina enrolled in a sort of daredevil gymnastics class called Streb PopAction—a sort of juvenile demolition derby hosted by a fascinating dance company known for its acrobatic dancers’ propensity for courting injury at the hands of large moving objects. Kina had not always been daring as a toddler, but a few semesters of Streb had her very calmly jumping from platforms taller than her, sliding down platforms, and swinging from suspended trusses. And then, just as she was really getting into it, they locked the school down.

Our house is not a gymnasium. Nonetheless, she makes her own danger. Just this evening, I caught her jumping from the coffee table into a pile of throw pillows, inches from our bookcase. Today’s top headline is about a routine stunt she pulls, leaping roughly 2.5 feet from the dresser by our window (where she meets regularly with her pigeon friend) and onto our bed. This is as exciting as it gets in our non-gymnasium house, and until such time as we purchase three-inch-thick gym mats for our living room, also the safest form of daredevilry that I can countenance. I look forward to the re-opening of Streb, if only to see just how daring our daughter is, and to build in her the confidence to reason with and confront scary situations. You can only be a particular kind of toddler stuntperson for a few years in your life, and I want her to enjoy that—just not from our coffee table.

Last thing: I want you all to know that I did try to make an Evel Kinaevel joke in the headline, but it just didn’t land.

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