We love many things about Battle Point Park: the vast open space, the duck pond, the winding paths, the wild geese, ducks, and rabbits, and the blackberry bushes in summer. But if you are a kid, the best thing has to be the playground. Charlie has a fantastic time moving handfuls of gravel from one side of the wall to the other; she loves to run all over the wooden fort structure and peek out the little openings; she practices her balance as she climbs the whale tail and the giant starfish; she screams with glee when Jeff pushes her high on the swings; she musters courage I didn't think she had to go down the big slide all by herself and land on her knees in the sawdust at the bottom. She makes me envious of her age, her size, how giant and fun this all must seem to her, while I sit in the shade keeping an eye on her and her sleeping sister. Oh, to be little again, and for the world to be huge and exciting. No gas prices or carbon footprints or presedential elections to worry about. No wondering if in a few years we'll be riding horses to Safeway and hitching them up in the grassy area that used to be the parking lot. Just big wooden forts and bridges to climb and explore, wild geese and rabbits to chase, cool juicy blackberries to pick and eat, and a swing in which you can touch the sky, but only if Daddy pushes.
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