There is no shortage of parks in our neighborhood, and there is no shortage of excitement in our home to visit said parks and explore. We set out on an afternoon drive to find Huntley Meadows Park. However, that was not to be the case. For some reason, our GPS would take us to a neighborhood, and a gate with a sign that said Huntley Meadows Trail or something of the sort but it was locked and we could not park anywhere. It just looked like the edge of a forest, and it was. After trying two or three times and being thoroughly frustrated, we drove up a few blocks further and came to the Mt. Vernon Woods Park and an elementary school right across the street from it. The park was mostly deserted and from the street, where we parked, we could see some swings and a slide. Other than that, it wasn’t much of a park, really. I was not a happy camper as I was looking forward to exploring Huntley Meadows and its wonderful wetlands that I had seen pictures of.
Aaron insisted on just stopping at this park instead and I was miffed. But, having no choice since the alternative of spending our time driving around was not appealing, I reluctantly agreed to just play on the swings for a few minutes. We got out, and Gracie took off down the path towards the swings. As we neared the play area, suddenly two teenagers, one with his pants halfway down his rear and a towel around his neck, jumped up from the slides, and started to walk away. My mommy instincts were on full alert and I just knew something was up. I told Aaron, “I bet you they were dealing drugs something of the sort.” Aaron thought I was overreacting and finding excuses to leave because I didn’t want to be there. (Partly true.) But, I didn’t want to deny Gracie some time to stretch her legs and get some energy out, so we stayed. Besides, the light was so beautiful.
In a huff, I walked off in the direction of the car, and Gracie followed me. So, Aaron decided to compromise and suggested that we go over to the school playground instead. I knew that Gracie would love it, so we headed over there. It was a little playground with a few kids on the monkey bars. Gracie loved it, of course, and wanted to walk up the stairs (her favorite thing to do), and go down the slides. I love this age she is in – her sense of adventure and discovery are boundless and she throws herself into each experience fully, usually accompanied with much laughter and shrieks of joy. Her daddy was having a lot of fun, too, and raced her up the steps and down the slides.
Although we only stayed for a shorter time than normal, I managed to capture some of that joy and they turned out to be some of my favorite pictures ever! I mean, just look at that smile on Gracie’s face, and the equally joyous one on Aaron’s face! This time we are spending together as a family is special and one that we will look back on with fond memories. I hope we continue to place our family and its priorities first, and create memories that last a lifetime.
