We are park junkies.<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t matter where we go, or what we are doing, we almost always factor playgrounds into our outings. And they all have nicknames. Mouse Cheese Park. Beehive Park. Colour Park. The Really Big Park. Not the most clever names, to be sure, but my girls always know exactly what I\u2019m talking about.<\/p>\n
Three year old twins have a remarkable capacity to remember the tiniest detail of every park trip. The time A found the little horse in the wood chips. (If this is your lost horse, please know it\u2019s been in the best of hands for the past 15 months or so!) E\u2019s favourite ultra-bouncy teeter-totter. (It\u2019s in a top-secret Sherwood Park park, if you\u2019re wondering.) And the mystery of the park that had a slide one week, and a boarded up hole the next week. (apparently a number of city parks were going through slide replacements last year.)<\/p>\n
The anti-social me loves it when we pull up to a park with not a soul in sight. A whole park to ourselves \u2013 the ultimate in freedom! The worried mother me usually jumps in at some point and frets about the need for socialization – maybe I should look for busier parks? And the fitness fanatic me shakes my head at the wasted opportunity abandoned parks represents. Kids need parks, and kids need play. We are so fortunate to live in a place that understands the value of playgrounds for children, and provides these incredible play spaces.<\/p>\n
Snow and rain don\u2019t stop us \u2013 they add to the fun. There\u2019s nothing better than Mother Nature leaving a giant pile of fresh, fluffy snow for the softest slide landings. Or the excitement of the first giant park puddle of spring, that completely distracts us from playground equipment altogether.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been taking the girls to parks since they were 6 months old. I\u2019d settle them into a baby swing with blankets for support and give them little pushes. They loved it! When they started crawling, I\u2019d spread a blanket on the ground and listen to them giggle as the grass tickled their fingers and toes. We lived walking distance from our grocery store, so most afternoons, we\u2019d set off on a familiar trip \u2013 grocery store, park, home. I imagine the clerks thought I was a complete scatterbrain, shopping every day, but it was a great way to get out and explore our neighbourhood.<\/p>\n
I distinctly remember the cardio workouts I\u2019d get taking the girls to the park when they were about 14 months old. They were old enough to climb up stairs and clamber across park equipment, but too young to understand that holes meant danger. And I\u2019m sure all my fellow twin parents will tell you that two toddlers at that age NEVER venture in the same direction.<\/p>\n
My husband received countless texts, photos and videos documenting many of the girls\u2019 firsts achieved at parks. Climbing ladders! Jumping off things! Jumping on! Falling off things! (Mom should\u2019ve put the camera down sometimes…)<\/p>\n
Now, at 3, my girls take as much delight as I do in exploring new parks. They relish the treasure-hunt moment of discovering the one we\u2019re looking for, (\u201cHang on, mommy thinks we need to turn here…\u201d) and eagerly report to daddy all the highlights of our adventure. And I absolutely love that when I pick them up from school, or we finish our morning outing and get back in the car, they always ask me \u201cMommy, what park are we going to today?\u201d<\/p>\n
I hope they never stop asking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"