While we were at my mother’s place we took a little trip to the big playground in Marmora. If you’ve even driven down Hwy#7 towards Toronto you’ve probably passed by it, or if you were smart, stopped to stretch your legs. The town has done a great job on the playground and surrounding park area. There’s a Subway across the parking lot as well as a Mac’s. There are washrooms and benches and a great view of the water.
There is also a roundabout, which the girls love, and look forward to whenever we visit.
“Mummy, why don’t they have roundabouts in other parks?”
“Because that’s an example of old-fashioned playground [everything is old fashioned if it’s older than they are!] equipment. They don’t really build those anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because kids fall and hurt themselves on this kind of playground equipment. And people who design playgrounds don’t want that to happen.”
“But it’s fun!”
“Yeah, I know.”
–
Later: “Mummy, will you push us on the roundabout?”
“No.”
–
Later, in the car on the way back to Ottawa:
“Mummy,” said Emma hesitantly. “I don’t mean this in a bad way, but, I’m just saying.”
“Yes?”
“Sometimes it seems like grownups have no fun left inside them.”
It suddenly got very quiet in the car.
“You mean because I didn’t want to push you on the roundabout?”
“Yes. Didn’t you want to have fun?”
“Yes, but I was tired. I had no energy left to push you guys on the roundabout.”
“Oh.”
Silence.
“You should have said that you had no energy,” said Emma. “I would have understood.”
“Ok,” I said. “I will try to be more clear next time…. You know Emma, sometimes grownups do different things to have fun.”
Emma was quiet. I was going to continue, but I was stuck, racking my brain for a grown-up activity that I do, that is truly fun.
