Yeah, That Was Me

I wanted to salute the parents and all of their parenting styles at the playground today. At least we were out there on a totally gorgeous spring day. (Some of the real me is coming out in this post. No sense in hiding my sarcasm and cynicism all of the time, right?)

I saw parents sitting at picnic tables with their super size fast food cups. Nothing wrong with that. Maybe the fast food was a special treat to aid in the out-of-the-house festivities. I don't really know you, so I can't make a fair judgment on your family's general habits. I'm just so glad you're getting your kids out to a playground for exercise. It is very important for our youth to get exercise and free play. Seriously. Good job.

And the moms in frumpy clothes who climb all up in the fort and playground equipment. I'm sure you had good intentions to include yourself in their playtime and getting some activity for yourself while doing it. But at the same time kids should be allowed to create their own games and explore. And on occasion fall down because you're not hovering less than a foot away from them. It's good for them. And you could probably use the break to sit on the bench and take a breath.

I was a little jealous of the active wear moms whose kids ran off to play and they got to gab uninterrupted for an extended period of time. Awesome concept to find a friend with kids that will play together without assistance. I'm going to get myself more of those, but probably when my kids are old enough that they don't eat sand or mulch.

My son only knew birthday girl at the party and doesn't really care to make temporary friends at a playground. Some kids can make friends for an hour to play with, he's just not one of them. So that was me in my trouser jeans, embroidered peasant top, sunglasses, drinking an iced Starbucks coffee while pacing the perimeter of the equipment so I knew where my child was most of the time. He gave me a tour of the passageways inside the fort and showed me where he locked up the Joker. I did talk to the birthday child's parents and grandmother when the opportunities arose. Don't hate me for looking put together, having enough time to stop for coffee before a scheduled event, allowing a reasonable distance for my child to play independently, and neither of us making temporary friends. I had a great time. And maybe I did deserve the sunburn around the neckline of my new shirt.

I love that parents come in all shapes and styles and that their techniques can vary as well. We were all out today for hopefully the same reasons: kids, outdoors, playing...and maybe burning off some of their energy too.