A day in the park

We decided to go on an adventure today. We loaded up some snacks, the kids, and a couple of fishing poles. As we pulled out of our neighborhood we made the decision to hunt down a nearby lake we had never heard of. It is a city park and you must drive through a section of semi-historic houses to reach it. It was a beautiful drive down a lane of brick bungalows with dogwoods and azaleas all abloom. The lake was much larger than anticipated and had nice walkways and a playground. The children and I played while splitcat hunted for a place to fish. When at last he returned it was with the disappointing news that the fish were not biting. So we had a snack and the children played again on the playground. It is a strange thing to let your children wander off and to watch them interact with other children. It not only conjures memories of one's own childhood, it is also a reminder that your own children are growing up.

We stopped for lunch at Miss Donald's(which is how McDonald's is pronounced around here) where the children played some more. When it was getting close to time to leave, we heard the unmistakeable wailing of our son. splitcat managed to locate him and bring him to our table. The front of his shirt was all stretched out and the back of his neck was red. A little girl had grabbed his shirt and pulled very hard on it for a long time. We were proud that he didn't retaliate. One nice mother came and asked if it was a girl or boy, she sighed with relief when told it was a girl, she had two boys. But I thought it kind of her to make sure it was not one of her own children. That doesn't happen alot. Most of the time the mothers are paying no attention to their children. I shuddered to see a mother send her tiny child, who was maybe two, alone into the play area while she stood in line. If the restaurant had been empty, I could see doing that with an older child. But it was packed. I just don't understand modern parenting. Maybe I am too protective. I try to keep watch from a respectful distance, but not from so far away that I cannot quickly soothe a scraped knee or a bruised ego. But I was proud of my children for how they handled themselves on both playgrounds. It gives me hope that I am not such a bad mother after all.