They have really changed Glenlake Park in Decatur. We had not been since they reopened the park. It was a beautiful day in the upper 80's so we ventured out.
My oldest son did quite a bit of grieving over the new plantings around the creek. He has such fond memories of wading, throwing rocks and getting soaked. They have built up the area and creek access is no more. He sat on the bench for awhile and spoke about how disappointed he was. How it was not fun here anymore.
As I stared at the playground equipment that neither of my boys played on...I thought about my current theory...playground equipment is lame. The boys started running up and down the sidewalk. Then they found a huge pile of rocks which they played on for about 1.5 hours. They were filthy and happy.
I thought a lot about the spaces I used to play as a child. We had a creek near our house and a lake. There were wooded trails. We played in the woods until sunset. Somebody had a canoe. We played kickball. We rode bikes. We had BIG play. Play that took up acres. Play that involved the whole neighborhood. No boundaries. BIG play - full of risks and imagination.
I plan to go back to Glenlake...one nice thing is there is a lot of land and many alternatives to the playground equipment. What will they do next...
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