Sunday, March 11, 2012

A Tale of Two Playgrounds



Although its been a mild winter here in the northeast, today was the first Sunday since Fall of 2011 that temps managed to peak beyond sixty degrees. While this kind of weather may still require Angelinos to wear their uggs and/or floor length capes, around here it inspired Capital Region residents to dig their tank tops and sandals out of storage. You could hear a collective sigh of relief as Albany recognized that the worst of the winter is officially over (unless there is some freakish April Fool’s Day snowstorm, which is totally possible). This means our heating bills will go down and there is less likelihood that we will have a power outage, at least for the next three months or so. A true cause for celebration.

OUR family celebrated by spending most of the day outdoors. While I had only anticipated ONE nice, hour-or-so long mid-morning visit to a playground, I simply couldn’t deal with us being indoors on such a gorgeous day, so I took Em for a second post-nap visit to another playground in the afternoon. Em is a HUGE fan of the outdoors, and especially of playgrounds, so she didn’t put up any resistance.

Our two playground experiences were so vastly different.

Our morning excursion was to a beautiful all-wooden castle-like playground I have been admiring from afar ever since I was pregnant with Em. Its one of those playground which happens to be on the grounds of one of the area’s public schools, so I haven’t been sure if it is actually LEGAL for us to be on the premises. But as hubby put it, the worst case scenario would be that some Scrooge would tell us to get off the monkey bars. Big whoop.

When we got to the playground, it was empty (at 11:00 o’clock! On a beautiful Sunday!) but there was no gate preventing us from accessing it, and no sign that said non-students were to keep out, so our family rushed in like it was opening hour at Disney World.

The playground is A-MAZING. It totally lived up to my heightened expectations. It has toddler-appropriate swings, lots of slides, tons of climby things and SO MANY little nooks and crannies just waiting to be discovered. And because it was just the three of us there, we were able to OWN the place. We played hide-and-go-seek, slid down the slide about 87 times, and climbed until our knees gave out on us. Even though hubs and I were both absolutely spent after being at the playground for an hour and a half, it was with a heavy heart that I left. I kind of want to LIVE there permanently. I could totally be the troll under the bridge, or the princess who lives in the castle turret…

Oh, yes, and Emmy enjoyed it too.

A few other families finally showed up, which made us happy, knowing we weren’t breaking any rules (or that if we were in fact breaking rules, we’d be scolded along with 4 other mamas and dadas, and 6 other children).

(SIDE NOTE: As we left the grounds, a little boy ran towards me, his arms wide open, practically jumping into my arms. With my mama instincts going full-throttle, I kneeled down and hugged the little one before I even had any time to think. His grandma approached and said “that’s what scares me about him.”

I laughed the awkwardness of the situation off, but it really made me kind of sad. Of course I know that it is NOT smart for little kids to run up to strangers and give out free hugs. I should probably NOT have encouraged the boy by hugging him back. But I’m just not the type of person who turns a cold shoulder to a child. And like I said, my body acted before my mind had time to intervene. It makes me upset that a child’s friendliness and willingness to hug a stranger should be seen as scary or nerve wracking, but of course I understand the grandmother’s reasoning. I just wish the world weren’t so screwed up, so we wouldn’t have to go around being so freakin’ scared all the time.)

Post-nap playground was a whole ‘nother ball o’ wax. Em and I visited our “go to” playground, located in a pretty popular and conveniently located town park. My word, it seemed like EVERYONE and their mother, cousin, dog, and dog TRAINER were at that playground. To see it, you would have thought that all of Upstate New York has only one playground to share. It was simply out of control. Moms were searching for their lost children. Big kids were running around knocking over small kids. Sand was being thrown. Intergenerational arguments were breaking out left and right.

Emmy and I stood at the edge of the playground, observing the chaos like it was Ringling, Barnum and Bailey (it really WAS a circus). And then Em said “no”, and turned around, leading me with her little fingers to the field of grass that surrounds the play area. There, in the relative calm of a less congested environment, we rolled around in the dirt, drew pictures with sticks in the ground, and made ourselves grass moustaches. After that we walked around and said hello to the birds and the doggies that were hanging out around the perimeter of the park. So we had a great time, we just never actually played ON the playground. To do that would have been madness.

All in all, it was a marvelous day. It was the kind of day I have waited for all winter. And the best part about it is that there are three seasons of days like this ahead, and we won’t have to have a playground-less weekend for months and months to come.

12 comments:

  1. Ahhhh wooden playgrounds. That looks like the Voorheesville elementary school play ground. I used to take my boys there..so much fun. We have a small pocket park around the corner from us..that gets pretty crowded.
    I miss those days! So glad you got Em out in the sun! Hopefully winter is behind us. After last winter here, this has been more than welcome.
    Hugs

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    1. It WAS the Voorheesville playground, Annie! :) I LOVE that playground. And the fact that they have a little community herb garden right across the lawn is a huge bonus (I'm hoping to take Emmy there many times so we can keep watch on the herbs and flowers as they blossom).
      Are there any other playgrounds in the area that can compete with Voorheesville's? I'll go back there a million times, but it's always nice to mix things up with a little variety.
      I am so NOT a winter person, so this past winter was truly a gift. Love that we got basically two snowstorms that were really pretty, and then melted away quickly. And I'm over the moon about this early spring weather... I'm gonna have to go knock on some wood now :)
      Big hugs,
      D

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  3. Hmmm..I am so out of the loop about playgrounds- I do know there is a really neat one that is only a few years old at ..I think it's called Pine Hills Elementary, North Allen st near the corner of Western/Madison Aves. Near me there is the North Bethlehem pocket park on Russell Road across from the fire house, near Krumkill Road. And down Schoolhouse rd. before you get to Western Ave there is Strawberry Park. Maybe you had been referring to one of them as the 2nd park you brought Emmy to. I should ask on my FB page about playgrounds... Or at work. I'm sure Clifton Park has some sweet ones... But it's a ways away.

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  4. Thanks so much for the suggestions, Annie. I've actually been thinking that it would be a great idea to start an online database of playgrounds, so that moms like me could find out about all the nearby parks and what they have to offer (whether they are toddler appropriate, how many slides, general crowdedness, etc.) Of course I have NO time whatsoever to work on this idea, so I'm kind of hoping someone else might do something similar in the near future. For now, I will totally check out (and really appreciate) your suggestions. Em and I will do a playground hop one of these Saturdays, and I'll report back on our findings. :)
    The second park I was referring to was the one at The Crossings in Colonie. It is a great park, and is so conveniently located, but there are SO MANY people who go there when the weather is nice. It's kind of discouraging. The good news is there ARE lots of other things to do at The Crossings, like watching the fish and ducks in the pond, or going to visit the cows in the adjacent farm. So when the playground is overrun with folks, there's an easy PLAN B!

    Many many thanks for your continued caring responses and words.

    D

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  5. The Crossings, of course! I've only been there a time or two..I have no excuse tho, living close enough. It's such a great park. And seems to be used for so many things, and imagine the playground is wonderful.
    It's going to be a while til I get any grandchildren, but I am especially close to a sweet co-worker who has an 8 month old son, who I adore. We will have to scope out some good playgrounds for him. She lives in Cohoes, and the pickings are slim.
    It's funny, D, I can't exactly remember how I found your blog, but that we live that close to one another is very uncanny. Btw, I am off Schoolhouse Rd. in Guilderland/No. Bethlehem. No, I don't expect you to tell me where you are, I just wanted to throw that out there. It's a small world after all!
    Come Sept, a long way off, the North Bethlehem fire house, Russell and Krumkill has a community day the Saturday after labor day, and everything is free. Food, bouncy bounces, face painting, etc. even if you aren't in the fire district, you can still attend. Great day for the little ones.
    Hugs, Annie

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    1. Annie - we live in Guilderland, too! It IS a small world after all, eh? I knew you were from the area, but not THAT close! My husband was raised in the Guilderland area, and even though he swore he never wanted to live so close to his parents, we live three blocks away from them, which is actually marvelous for all of us :) (I hope you get to experience the joy of grandmahood sometime soon, because my mother-in-law says it's the best thing that has ever happened to her).
      We have probably passed each other in one of the local supermarkets and not even known, it's so crazy. We will definitely have to make a date to meet each other in the near future. The September event sounds fantastic - I am going to mark my calendar! I hope we meet before then, but if not, we will have to make a point of finding each other by one of the bouncy bounces. :)

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  6. Wow.. Closer than I would have thought. A lot of my sons friends have returned to the area, and my younger son is here, my older one moved to NYC after college, and I know will never be back. But for now, he's a 2.5 hr train ride away.
    I would love to meet you and Emmy sometime! That will be wonderful.
    . Hey, since you are in G'land, have you been to the playground in Tawasentha Park? I don't think it is huge, but it is a beautiful park. With a pool. And further down rt. 146 is a sledding hill, and it is designated. There are some parks in Altamont, not sure what those playgrounds are like. I wonder about the elementary schools..Westmere, Pine Bush, Lynnwood... Just some thoughts!


    And the fire dept..I'm an associate member, just finished 8 years as district secretary to the fire commissioners. My older son was a junior member.

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  7. Darn iPad...I usually go to the V'ville Hannaford..my son is a meat cutter there. Sometimes it's the only way I see him! That and the PC at 20 and Johnston..but I'm not a PC fan. It's just closer. :-)
    Hugs

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  8. We've been to the playground at Tawasentha, yeah! The only problem was that the last time we were there, it was swarming with bees... don't know if there was sap coming out of the wood or what else might have been the cause, but it definitely got in the way of us having a good time (Em didn't care, but I kept running around like a maniac, trying to not get stung :)
    How great that you worked for the fire commissioners! Must feel pretty wonderful to support that team and all the work they do. I imagine you miss the people you worked with (but maybe get to see them with some regularity?)
    As for your sons, at least having one live in NYC provides you with a good excuse for going down there to visit (I love the city, but boy does it wear me out)! And having another son who works in the meat department at Hannaford MUST mean you can get a pretty "prime" steak or lamb chop when you need it, yeah?
    We go to PC for convenience, but with Trader Joe's coming to town, I believe we will joining the rest of the Capital Region in shopping there once it opens. I fear I am going to have to put three hours aside for grocery shopping, just to account for the time it will take to find a parking spot. :)
    Big hugs,
    D

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  9. Trader Joes can't wait! I works regular 8-4job, so going to the store at odd hours is going to be tough.. Maybe very early on a Sat. Or Sun. Morning...just trying to get in and out of that lot is going to be a challenge. I'm still waiting for a Wegmans. When my older son went to Cornell. He often wondered if I really came to Ithaca to see HIM or visit Wegmans... One visit my husband took pictures of me clowning around the store..holding up products etc, until security followed us around. Oops, definitely frowned upon. I miss that store! Trader Joes will have to do.
    Hugs

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  10. I visited a Wegman's during a trip to Western NY (I think we were near Syracuse..) I felt like I had discovered a piece of paradise that had fallen to earth. All stores should be like Wegman's. And how awesome that you got security to follow you around like you were a suspicious character, when all you were doing was having a good time! Silly security.
    But you're right, Trader Joe's is gonna have to do. I'm just glad to have one closer to us than the one I go to in New Jersey (I've always made a pilgrimage to TJ on the way back from visiting my relatives in NJ).
    I hope that the Albany TJ is such a success that they will have to open more stores in this area. I wouldn't mind a Whole Foods, either. :)
    Hugs,
    d

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