I No Longer Fear Playgrounds

Like pretty much every kid on the planet, our kids love playgrounds. Every weekend: "Can we go to the playground?!?!" And most weekends we take them.

Until recently, going to the playground was torture for me. Having four kids scurrying in four different directions is hard enough, but then add an entire landscape of wobbly shit to fall off of, and I'm ready to lose my mind. Of course, there's zero chance that they all want to play on the same piece of playground equipment, so someone was always just out of sight and almost certainly about to break a limb, eat a bug, or burrow into a pile of mulch.

The big kids are finally finally finally old enough to sure-footedly climb up slides, realize when their balance is faltering on ladders, and understand that they can't traverse monkey bars alone. I no longer double-check that I have my medical insurance cards in my wallet before we head out for the park. I even manage to have a little bit of fun taking Clark down the big slides.

One day I'll be able to bring a book and wave at the kids from a bench while they run and climb and play. That day is soooo far in the future that I don't think about it to too often. But one day it will happen. One day...