Yesterday.
The sunshine from my window warmly welcomed me to the day. Usually I might lay and enjoy the silence of the morning, soak up the suns rays, thankful to have awaken all on my own. peaceful, quiet, free from hungry screams (riggdon) or a book landing square on my face, demanding to be read. (campbell).
But not this morning.
I quickly jumped out of bed and threw on my jogging gear. An unsettling feeling of anxiety was slowly growing in the pit of my stomach. I had to go. I had to start my day. now.
I wasn't quite sure what the underlying cause for my urgency was. No doctors apts.... No early engagments. but for some reason, I just felt the need to get up and moving. Turbo time.
Campbell was just stretching the sleep from his limbs, when I crept into the boys room. I scooped him up in his little feeted pajamas and loaded him into the jogging stroller (I'll have to tell you about my newest toy later).
It was perfect. Perfect temperature. Perfect light breeze. Perfect running compainion. Perfect Morning.
When we returned from little jaunt, Daddy and Riggdon were awake, eating breakfast. My anxiety seemed to have diminished, a little. The house, however, was a mess. Last nights dishes were in the sink, bits of zucchini casserole littered the floor beneath CJ's booster seat. Sand from the sandbox toys campbell insisted on bringing in the house yesterday crunched beneath my running shoes. The bed was unmade. Laundry to be done. Bathrooms to clean... and yet....
"We're going to the spray park." I announced
Danny looked up from the gob of grey, cement looking baby gloop he was about to shove into Rigg's hungry, open mouth with a puzzled look on his face,
"This morning?" He questioned
"yes, the morning session starts in a half hour. Get ready."
Danny's expression turned to one of surprise. Raised eyebrows. big eyes, you know the look.
"what?" I asked.
He waved his feeding hand towards the kitchen mess, causing the disgusting mass of mush to fall from the baby spoon and fall with a sick splat to the tile floor.
"Yes, I know it's shocking but I'm going to leave this mess and go to the spray park. Go get your swimsuite"
20 minutes later we were loaded up in the car ready for a fun filled morning of water frolicking. When we pulled into the parking lot, I knew something was wrong. The lot was empty. No minivans with sticky handprints decorating the back windows. No suburbans with "I'm proud of my cubscout" stickers on the bumper. No station wagons with soccerballs stuffed in the back window. Just one lone, yellow 80's Toyota Corrolla, the back seat totally free of carseats.
My anxiety level began to rise.
As we walked past the municipal pool, behind wich the spray park is located, my feeling of dread steadily increased as the echoing sound of childrens laughter muffled by the walls of the indoor swimming pool filled my ears. This only emphasised the lack of giggles, free of the restraint and constriction of cement walls, that should have been filling the mid morning air.
When we reached the spray park gates, I knew where my morning anxieties had come from. There, posted in ugly teenage lifeguard scribbles on a white sheet of printer paper, was this note...
Spray park closed for Fall Season.
Summer is almost over.
And I am in mourning.
I'm terrified of letting any of these last few beautiful summer days go to waste. I'm trying to squeeze every last drop of warmth out of every last ray of sunshine. I've been trying to ignore the cooling evenings. The crisp mornings... but it was inevitable. This short, cool summer is about to turn to a long miserable winter. (I'm not so found of the colder weather, can you tell?)
So for these last few weeks, maybe even days, of summer I am going to live outside. I've contemplated pitching a tent. The laundry will remain undone. The dishes, dirty. My floor, filthy.
And i'm going to take a lot of pictures. to get me through these next 6 months. to remind me it won't last forever. (okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic but I really love sunshine.)
In loving memory...
The Spray Park 2009
We were a little shy the first few visits...
But we warmed up rather quickly (with a little help from dad)
And Riggs, as usual, was fat and happy.
CJ and Helena Beana.
Until next year, spray park...you will be missed.
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