The Ultimate in Un-Cool

Our little neighborhood park was finally completed this fall, right before the snow set in. So now that it is Spring, the place is hip-hoppin' with people checking out the new slides and swings.
So I took my kids down the other day to get some energy out. What I have found from all of my recent visits, is that this park has become an after-school hang out spot for all the neighborhood tweens. You know, those junior highers that have nothing going on after school. As usual there was a big mob of them on the equipment when we got there. But apart from telling one little dude that the left over snow he was throwing was hitting Georgia in the face, they pretty much played nicely beside my small children. When I arrived the group of girls separated from the boys and they all went and lined up on the swing set.

After a while, of course, Wally and Will wandered out of the playground bounds, and found a gigantic mud swamp in a grassy field. When I noticed them getting ready to dive in, I jumped up and ran over telling them to get back up where they should be. They, again, of course, didn't listen the first time. So now I had to get stern and tell them if they weren't back up by me by the count of three, no more park.

I had to walk past the swing set while calling to the boys. And let me tell you, when I whipped out the "stern" voice, those girls, without saying a word to each other, were up off the swings, and out of there! Boy do I know how to clear a playground! At this point another woman from my street was there with her kids. When I got back to the bench and told her how hilarious I thought it was that they evacuated the scene so quickly when I got mad at my boys, she said, "Well yeah, mean mom alert."

And it was a sad realization, those twelve year -old's don't see me as a cute, young mom, I am a big meanie! They probably came to the park to get away from their own mothers, just to run into another yelling nag! So the day of my being somewhat cool has officially come to and end. It was a little surprising, and I felt kind of old. I now wear the title of "wet towel," with the tween crowd. Oh well, to tell the truth, I wasn't that cool to start with!

Will, going down the only slide he will go near. All others are too big.


Georgia on the swings. She loves them, and me, too young to see the nag in me yet.