The Tot Lot

I got a phone call last Friday from Rufus. He called to invite me to go to the Metro Park with him and his brother Franklin, baby sister and his Mom. I haven’t been over for the usual Thursday Adventures because Beth has been home on maternity leave with the new baby. I miss Rufus and Franklin like crazy, and I really miss how hard they make me laugh. The phone call went like this:

Rufus: Aunt Char-Char?

Me: Yeah?

Rufus: I was just sitting here, playing with my Lego’s, when my Mom came in and said we were going to the Metro Park later. I was thinking, since you’ve never been to the Tot Lot before, you might like to come with us. It will be a lot of fun.

How could I refuse an offer like that? After a morning movie and lunch, my sister Whittney and I met them at their house. Rufus and Franklin were waiting for us at the door. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see them. It amazes me how accustomed I am to seeing my little friends each week, and how much I miss them when I don’t.

When we got inside, Rufus told me how he’d packed his backpack with animal cookies with frosting and sprinkles and how Mom said we could get ice cream at the place with the yellow umbrellas next to the Tot Lot. He even offered to share his cookies with me, which I felt was a noble gesture because above all else, Rufus loves sweets.

It has been years since I’ve been to the Tot Lot. When I was a kid, it was a series of small wooden houses that you could go in and out of and play in. My Mom used to take us to the Metro Park I loved the Tot Lot. In place of the tiny houses, is a HUGE playground. It has ropes, and slides, and swings and tunnels. There is a scavenger hunt where you can find little shapes throughout the jungle gym, and rock climbing walls. There is a smaller section for kids five and under, and one for the older kids, plus they have this thing that you can spin in circles on until you puke. Frankly, it’s beyond cool. It puts the little houses that were there when I was a kid to shame.

Well, Rufus and Franklin had a ball! They ran around and showed me and Whittney everything. After a while, Beth and I played with the kids while Whittney held the baby in the shade of a tree. We played for several hours until it was time for a snack, (after having already had all the water and cookies for a previous snack) we went to the ‘snack stand’ for ice cream. Rufus got a vanilla ice cream with sprinkles that came in a 12 oz paper coffee cup- and ate the entire thing. Franklin shared an ice cream with Whittney, then got bored and lined up all the plastic chairs for something to do while Rufus finished.

Outside the ‘snack stand’ the Metro Park set up a small area with animals. A very nice and helpful young woman was showing these animals to the kids, and encouraging them to look at the turtles, snake, bull frog, and the little table she had set up with dead animal skins. Honestly, she had a stuffed squirrel and a fox tale along with pamphlets and a poster board about their habitat. It was all very interesting, but the taxidermy squirrel was a bit gross.

Franklin and Rufus were on board for touching the turtle, but when she took the Fox snake out, they hid behind me. I even touched it to try and show them it was ok. No luck. They wanted no part of it. It was still a great end to a fun day. When we were driving home, Rufus asked me what touching the snake felt like. I told him it was cold and smooth, that snake him- and then I wiped my gross snake hand on him. All and all, it was a great day.