Completing a writing prompt about a fun memory.
Sometimes I complete writing prompts while waiting in the car or at night before I sleep. Recently, I completed a writing prompt about my "favorite playground memory." I thought I'd share my favorite memory with you.
The Writing Prompt
I bought this and other writing prompt books from a Half Price Books store years ago. In fact, some of the writing prompts inspired a few of my blog posts including My Personal "Commandments."
Recently, I selected the following prompt at random from Susie Morgentsern's The Aspiring Writer's Journal:
Write about your favorite playground memory.
At the bottom of the page was the following quote by Rumi:
"The world is a playground, and death is the night."
Many fond playground memories came to mind. I thought about some fun imaginative adventures from my childhood. I recalled fun playground days with my nieces and nephews when they were children.
While there were several memories that came to mind, there's one memory I wanted to write about today.
A Large Dog's Play Day
About ten years ago, my large dog, Shadow, and I would drive my Dad to his VA appointments. Dad would have several appointments scheduled in a day, so he'd be at the hospital for hours at a time.
Shadow and I would drop Dad off at the hospital and head to a nearby park for a few hours until Dad called to be picked up.
We would walk around the park to get a little exercise and potty relief for Shadow. I'd then grab some items from the car to setup a picnic. Shadow loved children and watching them play, so I always setup a picnic by the playground.
On one rainy day, I decided to not setup a picnic in case we had to retreat to the car on short notice. However, I noticed there wasn't anyone else at the park on this day.
After our usual walk around the park, I decided to check-out the playground area. I checked the signs to see if dogs were not permitted in the area, but none of the signs stated that pets weren't allowed.
We walked right into the playground area. Shadow hesitated because he'd never been on a playground before. I was a bad owner and insisted he stay with me. I always wanted to see what it looked like from the inside.
The playground area was grand! It was larger and nicer than the playgrounds I visited as a child or took my nieces and nephews to. It was mostly fenced with gaps for entrances/exits at two ends of the area.
The playground was setup as a fort with rope bridges, small rock-climbing walls, and towers for watching over the playground. There were also the traditional slides, swings, and monkey bars. Yet, I was impressed with the grandness of the playground and the many active things one could do there. It looked like a lot of fun for kids!
I probably shouldn't have done what I did next, but I removed Shadow's leash. Shadow was (and still is) a well-mannered dog. He responded to verbal commands and hand signals instantly. He also behaved off-leash, so I didn't worry about him running out of the area or doing anything destructive.
Shadow was shocked when I removed his leash, but he started to walk around the playground structures. I followed prepared to give a command if he did something I didn't want him to do.
After a few minutes, Shadow got playful and started hopping in place. I was excited to see his happiness, so I encouraged him to play with me on the playground.
We ran across the rope bridges. We slid down the slides. We jumped up and over the small rock-climbing walls. We played hide-and-seek (one of Shadow's favorite games). We had a great time!
I kept my eyes on the gaps at either end of the playground area to see if anyone started to head in. I knew to quit, put Shadow's leash on, and leave the area since it wasn't a dog's playground.
What I didn't realize was that we were being watched on the other side of the fence. There was a police officer on break who watched us play hide-and-seek in the playground. When I finally noticed him, the goody two-shoes in me panicked.
I walked over to the fence and apologized. The office smiled and said we were fine. He was on break and enjoyed watching us have fun. He told me to be respectful of others and clean up after my dog, but otherwise to keep having fun.
So, we continued playing. I think we played for an hour before a father and his two young children stepped into the area. When I saw them, I told Shadow "enough" and gave him the command to walk over to me.
I put Shadow's leash on and started heading out of the playground area. The father headed towards us, and I instinctively apologized for having my dog off-leash. I assured him that there was no mess he needed to worry about.
The father told me that he and his children watched us play for a minute before entering. He said he didn't mind us continuing our play and that his children were only interested in the swings. He asked if his children could meet my dog before we continued with our day.
At the father's request, I let his children meet Shadow. Shadow was great with children, and I didn't worry about him behaving badly towards them or their father. I didn't take Shadow's leash off. We didn't stay long. I informed the father that it was his turn to run around with his children in the playground.
As we walked away from the playground, I turned around in time to see the father chasing his children around that area.
My Thoughts
That was the first and last time Shadow and I played at that playground. It was unusual for the park to be empty, even on rainy days, because it's so large and next to a railroad museum and near several large hospitals.
Because of my pleasant conversation with the police officer, this wasn't the last time I played in an empty playground with my dogs. However, it wasn't something we've done more than a handful of times since that memorable day ten years ago. The goody two-shoes in me felt like it was morally wrong to do so which is why we haven't done it more when a park was empty.
If a playground was empty and I wanted to play with my dogs, I always checked to see if pets were permitted. There are many parks that don't allow dogs on the playground, but some don't have playground restrictions for pets. These are usually the parks where families commonly hang out with their four-legged friends.
There are a few parks and playgrounds in smaller towns and RV parks that don't have a such restrictions. On the rare occasion where a park was unoccupied, except with a few securities or police officers around, I'd take my dogs onto the playground so I can swing.
Rascal, my small dog, developed a love for toddler swings. It started when he was still a puppy and my niece placed him in a toddler swing. Now he'd try jumping onto a swing, hammock, or rocker on his own if he could.
Shadow hasn't played on the last few playgrounds we visited. He sat and watched as I'd push Rascal in a toddler swing, or I swung myself with Rascal on my lap. I don't trust Rascal off-leash, so I've never considered letting him off-leash other than at some dog parks.
What's Next?
Did you know Father's Day is coming soon? I forgot and just realized I need to make a Father's Day gift my Dad won't throw away.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
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