#One Week - Winter 1

In the bleak mid-winter at the park

I wrote recently about the devastating news for us that our local and favourite played in every day park has flattened the playground area. The play park closed December 24th 2012. Happy Christmas!

We have done our best, since PJ loves running and runs and runs and runs. She also loves playing hide and seek so we run along and do hiding, weaving in and out of the trees. We don our wellies and go puddle jumping and grab a stick and fish for leaves we call fish. We've chased the squirrels and over time, these last few months since PJ came to be with me she is slightly less aggressive towards them and will now stay still long enough for them to come quite close to her. She will now whisper: hello squirrel, softly before she stamps her feet or kicks her legs in the air or jumps up high and then shrieks with laughter as they turn and scamper off up a tree. Chase me, chase me, squirrel she says. It's a learning curve. We have taken PJ's scooter and travelled up and down the paths and practised our listening skills and following instructions as I give directions and help her take turns in choosing which path we go along next.

All this said, we miss our beloved playground within the park. We've spent months playing on the slide and climbing frame, taking turns to cross the bridge and exchange tickets to then spin the driving wheel to reach our destination: the zoo. We've stopped off to visit monkeys, elephants and the giraffe and turned the swings into the vets. Others have been encouraged to join in our games too. They have purchased tickets and yelled all aboard and travelled to the zoo in the park with us too. I have had my heart in my mouth moments when PJ has found it hard to share or to take turns or tried to be Miss very Independent and try and leap off the Fireman Pole - all by my own, Mummy! We've eaten our snack on the benches and sung see saw on the see saw and tried really really hard to get the roundabout to spin - a little. We have bought and sold and shared and devoured deliciously flavoured pretend ice creams from under the slide. And we have both slipped on the wobbly bridge and landed on our bums!

We have waved goodbye and stood in silence at the waste ground that is now the playground and Winter, with this loss, has hit us both hard.

The new playground will apparently be ready April 2014.
Winter is harsh, and seem cruel, sometimes.

I am joining in with the link over at Older Mum who is hosting a rather fabulous seasonal blog hop around the theme of Winter.