We met up with a new friend yesterday at the park. I'd only been to this park once before, the morning after we moved in. It was a cool morning and the park was empty and so close to our house, (less than a block) so I easily overlooked the graffiti and trash accumulation and pronounced the park charming.
Yesterday it was a lot less so. I hadn't had the chance to take the kids back since that initial visit although Tyler had and came home with less than glowing reviews. After yesterday I see why.
With my original assessment I had decided to do some research and return to the park with cleaning materials to scrub off or write over some of the more choice words scrawled all over the equipment. Alex is learning to read after all and there are some words I'd rather wait 10 years to explain. Upon further examination I saw that the last month had brought more creativity with it and the playground seemed twice as covered as before. Hmmmm.
As a usually laissez faire parent, I found my eyeballs glued to the kids as they ran around care free amongst the cigarets that lay like fallen leaves and slid down the gratified slides. My anxiety only increased when a gang of teenage boys arrived and laid claim to the playground, playing as though they were giddy 5 year olds, but their age making the activity seem menacing. This was about the time my friends 2 year old daughter was caught sucking on a cigarette butt, I about died in that moment.
As we left my eyes started to wander around the field, noticing groups of older teens and some preteens, even scraggly looking adults collecting around the park. And that's when I said goodbye and decided that some things, like nice parks, are worth driving to.
And then I came home and ordered Mace.
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