Friday, November 8, 2024

Kids Only

Heidi was home today, and so we walked Lucy together. The three of us ambled amiably through the back greens and commons of the neighborhood, away from the streets and traffic. There are little playgrounds back there, near the pools and tennis courts, and we saw groups of children playing unaccompanied by adults, which is a rare sight in this area. 

Not surprisingly, the kids were doing and saying ridiculous things: shoving each other over a liter of Pelligrino, arguing over a swing, playing mean princess in a log cabin-like structure, and riding bikes recklessly down embankments. Even so, we were more charmed than alarmed by this display of untamed behavior. Both of us recognized it from our own, more free-range childhoods.

My only regret is that we were there at all, because each time we drew near, the kids either stopped what they were doing or stared defiantly at us to see if we would intervene. 

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