I thought wrong.
First, there were more folks there than I anticipated. Not crowded, mind you, but quite a few kids, parents, grandparents, etc. And, they were little kids. Most younger than Cora. And, though the playground says ages 2 - 12, I kinda got the impression that my bringing my older kids was raining on everyone's parade. And, most of these kids were there by themselves (other than the parent). And, did I mention that most of these kids were quiet and docile?
And, did I mention that my 3 kids went RUNNING and SCREAMING onto the playground? This was before I realized the situation. I felt the looks and stares immediately. I felt the burning question of " what in the world is this woman with 3 wild kids doing here and look she's about to have another!".
So, I quickly assessed the situation. I reined my children in and nicely told them "No running on the playground, no playing tag, no chasing each other, no screaming, no making loud noises, no climbing on top of the things you should not be on top of. Now go have fun!"
Which sounded absolutely ridiculuous. Even to me. We were at a playground, for goodness sakes. No running? No screaming? No climbing on top of stuff you shouldn't be on top of? What fun is any of that?
But, alas, I could not be the parent with the "unruly" children", could I? Turns out, I could, because the kids didn't exactly follow all my instructions. I had to rein them in a few times. I wanted them to have fun, really, I did. But, I also wanted them to be respectful of the other folks there. Plus, I didn't want them to hurt the other kids ( a valid reason not to run on the equipment, play chase, or scream). At the same time, I really wanted them to be able to just "go wild" and have fun on the playground. What's a parent to do? ( I have decided we should just stay home and play! )
I think we may have ran a few folks off. They went to the picnic tables to eat. So, I "let" them eat in peace. I think a few may have left. (This may have just been all in my imagination but it seemed that way...I really don't think my kids were that loud or rowdy but compared to the crowd that was already there, we stood out like a sour thumb.) We played awhile and as they began to return from eating, I had had enough. We went over to the picnic tables to eat. Some of us ate, some of us cried (Cora DID NOT want to stop playing on the playground). Afterwards, I herded them to the car with the possibility of going to another playground where we would be less conspicious and hopefully there would other normally loud kids there.
As we were leaving, I spotted it. The "egg". You see, I have had this idea since Easter. Brace yourself. It's a little weird and odd but nonetheless, I will share it with. You can thank me later.
(Bear with me because I have to give the background on all of this...)
Ever since, the decorative "eggs" have been popping up all over town, Craig and I have pondered over them. Why do we have these eggs? Who paints them? Who pays for them? How much are these things costing? Who decides where they go? Again, why do we have them?
Let me just be honest here while I am at it. We kind of had made fun of them. It just seemed so random to us. One on the square in town. One at a bank. One at a school. One at a funeral home. No rhyme or reason to the placement of them (at least in our very limited knowledge of these eggs.)
Then, around Easter, I had this brilliant idea. We should go on a "Giant Easter egg hunt" and "hunt" down all of these "Easter" eggs, and take our kids pictures with them. Genius, right? I know, I know, it's a little weird, but what can I say?
So, now, everytime, I see one, I'm like, there's another one, we really need to start stopping nd taking pictures with these eggs. I'm not sure Craig is completely with me on this but I think I can convince him otherwise.
Anyway, back to the Coal Mtn. Ballpark story. As we are exiting the parking lot, I spot "it". An "egg". So, I tell the kids, let's get out and take a picture with this egg. And, then, I sweeten the deal. If you get out, do what I tell you, get a good picture with this egg, I will take you SWIMMING. That's all it took. We got out, took a few pics (not that great of ones but I was using my IPHONE, the sun was glaring in my face, and we were tired.)
And, so now I have begun our journey. The hunt has begun. This summer we are going to find every "GIANT EASTER EGG" and take our picture with it. And, you, my faithful friends and followers will get to enjoy each and every picture here on this blog. Your welcome.
Lolly
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