Something’s Missing

This is the view from my windows into the backyard.

Not very remarkable, you say.

No, it’s not, except that something’s missing.

For over ten years now, through three different houses, we’ve had a swing set in our backyard.  Not the same one, mind you.  We paid for and put together the first two, only to leave them behind when we moved.  We had determined not to buy another one for this house when we settled in over five years ago, but friends were getting rid of one and donated it to us.

On Saturday, we paid it forward and gave it to someone else.  Our daughters rarely played on it anymore – nor did they raise much of a fuss when we mentioned getting rid of it – so we knew it was time for it to go.

My sweet husband asked if letting it go would be difficult for me.  It wasn’t; it just seems a bit strange that after a decade, our girls are actually old enough not to be excited by climbing into a wooden tower or sliding down a hard plastic slide or swinging high up into the sky.

It will take awhile for the grass to fill in the bare spots.  So for now, I have a visual reminder to embrace the activities our girls enjoy today, knowing that the next season will see them leaving behind certain pleasures and moving on to new ones.