sandbox diaries #1

i wanted to write the occasional post on the antics that occur in or near the parks' sandboxes. pictured here is the 3rd street sandbox - it's the one i pictured when i was thinking of writing and i snatched this pic via image search.

notice the resident toys. each day starts with a set of them. some parents (foolish parents) drag some of their own kids toys up there. it sets the scene for a lot of tug of warring and "mine-ing". what a mess. can't say i love doing time in the sandbox.

lori said i should write down some of the stuff that happens at the playground. crazy stuff. take this one:

we have these neighbors - their kids go to alexandra's daycare. for awhile there we were seeing them 2 times a day. now just once. but the crazy thing is they don't recognize us. which makes this story possible.

alexandra and i were eating a snack on the bench at jj byrne playground - there is a patch of grass in front of the old stone house. and there was B and his mom. they were playdating with another mom and son. each boy about 4 years old.

they had one of those drugstore playballs and the kids were wrestling - equally matched and having fun over it. at one point our neighbor mom started a game of kickball. when the 4 year olds couldn't get it she showed them how and with the full force that her wide as tall brickhouse body could muster she kicked the ball hard and fast into the forehead of her son's playmate.

the tough little guy flipped backwards but for some reason didn't cry. and for some other reason his mom happened to be looking the other way and missed it. i thought the kid was knocked out and alexandra looked at me like "whoah."

the neighbor/brickhouse mom gave an awkward giggle then looked about before trying to head towards the kid. admit her guilt. but since the mom had been looking the other way and neither of the 4 year olds saw what had hit them she realized no one could prove she did it.

so my neighbor/brickhouse/model parent just walked the other way. the knocked down 4 year old bounce back to his feet like the playball that had hit him and kept on going.

but neighbor/brickhouse/model parent/guilty party there were eyeball witnesses in me and my daughter. busted. just another day in the park. stay tuned.