Thank you.
Thank you for bringing love and happiness into my life from the ages of five to 11. Before you came into my life I could have never imagined how a combination of wood, metal and plastic held together by nails and screws could mean so much to me.
I was fortunate enough to have one of the greatest playgrounds ever! It was primarily made up of three large components; a castle, a pirate ship and a dragon obstacle course, along with numerous swings.
The castle had more tunnels and secret passage ways that it became difficult to keep track of them all. As a kindergartner it was easy to maneuver through the tight spaces to escape all of the older kids. Now, walking around the playground as an adult, it is fascinating to see just how small those spots really were! Playing games was always memorable because of the large area you had to play on. Games like tag and manhunt were an everyday occurrence, but "hot lava" got super competitive. The goal was to travel from one side of the playground to the other without letting any part of your body touch the little rocks that covered the ground.
The pirate ship was one of a kind. There was the front that had an actual functioning pirate's wheel! Connecting the front to the back there was a "rickety" wooden bridge that you never really knew if it was actually going to break or not. There were slides, stairs and firemen poles to be used as escape routes in case of an enemy pirate attack. But most importantly if there was a need to flee from the top of the ship it was a race to get to the "secret spot." This spot was a little nook under the front of the ship where you could use as a place to relax, get some shade in the summer, or gossip year round. If you did not write your crushes name with a heart around it on the wooden walls, what were you really doing with your recess time?
It was not until I was in third grade when I realized we had not only a school district mascot, but a mascot of our very own. We were the Greenfield Dragons, and that's when it all clicked. The tire obstacle course set up had a giant wooden dragon head followed by a unique series of different sized tires, to create the body and tail! If only I could get back half of the amount of time I spent over the years trying to wiggle one of those tires free...
Sure, the rocks hurt when you fell on them, the metal slides burned your legs in the summer, the swings always squeaked, you would be chased by bees in the spring but the memories made were timeless. Now at 20 years old I reminisce over the wooden playground that for so many years was a place that I called home.
As an adult it is easy to get caught up in our day-to-day lives and become a zombie to our routines. But then remembering the little adventures in life, that once made such an impact brings things back into perspective. Being an adult is hard, and things are definitely not as easy as running to the secret spot to escape conflict, or swinging out frustrations. But it was here among my peers as a child that I learned how to live in the moment and enjoy the little things. The burns from the slides or scratched from the rocks these small injuries taught me time and time again to get up, brush off the dirt, and to keep going. And so much like that old rickety bridge, trusting the path you are going is not the easiest, but once you end up where you want to be it makes all the stress worth it, because moments don't last forever but memories do.
I was flooded with emotions when I heard the news that my elementary playground was going to be demolished and the wood was going to be traded for plastic, there were no words. My one of a kind, state of the art childhood sanctuary was going to be no more. But like a true dragon, I know it will emerge from the flames to greatness.
As Winnie the Pooh once said, "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." So, goodbye old friend. Thank you for the memories, and I hope that your new plastic replacement brings as much joy to future generations as you did for me.
