Maddy got a slip and slide for her birthday from some dear friends this year, and she and Abby have sure had fun flinging themselves across a thin piece of plastic that is intentionally made slippery. Kim and I decided against hurling ourselves across the firm ground, fearful that we might not get up again. I feel like it was a wise decision. But then I got to thinking about the crazy toys we had back in the 80s. Does anyone else out there remember having a water wiggle?

I mean, who invented that thing? If you remember it, it was a toy that hooked up to the hose that on the nozzle end had an alien-looking hood with weird googly eyes painted on it. The water jet shot the opposite way out of the head and the “fun” of it was that it would wiggle and warp all over the place and you never knew where the jet of water would go. It was wildly unpredictable. Sometimes you’d get a delightful spray of water, sometimes you would get a whack in the head, and sometimes you’d get a jet of water right in your eye. Ouch. The things we did for fun!

Nowadays, I much prefer a pool to just sit, cool off and relax in. I guess my water-wigglin’ days are over and my back tells me that my slip and slide days are definitely behind me. That’s okay, I’ll take my cold drink and enjoy watching the girls have fun. What water toys do you remember from your childhood? Shoot me an e-mail at [email protected] if you have a fun story.