Like me, I’m sure you take your kid to the park when they start to get a little out of hand at home. My que is when he’s running through the house screaming at the top of his lungs and the animals are cowering in a corner. That’s my sign, time to go to the park.
Once little man got old enough to enjoy parks I discovered we had two in the area that were designed more for toddlers. Bouncy things, small jungle gyms and baby swings as far as the eye could see!
I have learned that the park is filled with a couple of different types of people. Number one is always grandmas and grandpas watching their grand kids while mom and dad work.
Sometimes I feel kind of like a rarity. A mom with her kid at the park at 1pm, what?
Now these grandparents are all over the grand kids…don’t touch, don’t jump, don’t climb….honestly why even bring the poor kids. It like showing them a delicious ice cream cone covered in rainbow sprinkles and tossing it in the trash. Dang, let the kid at least have a lick.
Next we have the stay at home moms. This category is divided into two subgroups. The young moms and the older moms. The young mom is usually on her phone or has met up with other young moms to discuss clothes, coffee and booze. Seriously,
these are the conversations I hear when my kid is playing nearby. They sit on the bench drinking their Starbucks showing each other pintrest pins on the iphones while their kid is tearing ass around the park.
I recall one time when a mom called her kid to go home and he started to curse at her…F*CK IT F*CK IT! he was screaming. I nearly choked I laughed so hard. I did apologize for laughing, I know it only encourages bad behavior. She didn’t mind me laughing…alrighty then!
Then there’s my group, the older moms. We are somewhat a mix of grandparents and young moms. We run after our kids while drinking Starbucks and taking pictures with our iphones. We want our kids to run and play but we don’t want them to get hurt.
Those are the adults.
The kids are a different story.
You have the shy kid who is always hiding behind mom. You have the outgoing kid who wants to play with everyone at the same time. You have the ‘go to my own drum’ kid. you have the climbers and the dirt eaters. You have the sweet helper kids and the mean pusher kids. Such an array of kids!
I, myself am not a fan of the park but my kid loves it. He is all those kids wrapped into one. He is shy, then wants to play with everyone. He gets pushed and pushes back. He runs like a maniac. Hes learning to climb everything so hes all over the place and yes, he eats dirt!
They are all crazy in their own way, probably even crazier at home which is why I imagine they are at the park in the first place!
But sometimes its fun to watch. Watch these little kids learning how to interact with each other. Learning how to climb up the stairs or go down the slide on their own. The look on the faces when they do it all by themselves! The pride!!
Hmmm maybe the park isn’t that bad after all…..
Welcome to mommyhood!
~Bea
wearemommyhood 