Meadowlawn Park

As often as possible we try to go do something in the evenings with the girls. Yesterday we were all packed up and ready to roll when we realized that the Abuelos had accidently left with Vivian's car seat. Feeling stuck, I quickly looked at Google maps on my phone and saw the closest green spaces. One was Rio Vista Park which are very close friends the Newman's will be moving right next too in a few weeks and the other was Meadowlawn Park. We decided to check out the latter. The map showed that there was a small lake next to it, so grabbed some duck food (old bread that we keep in the garage frig for these occasions) and started our walk. I grabbed a ball, small thing of bubbles and butterfly net as accessories to our play in case all there was there when we arrived was grass, but we were happily surprised to learn that only 1.3 miles from our house was a full playground, really nice grassy area with plenty of shade and benches.
We all know how much I like a fenced in play area for the kids and this one served us beautifully. There were little slides and big slides. Little swings and big swings. Things for Lydia to climb and the cushy fairly clean ground was perfect for Vivian to crawl on.

Soon after we were there, a little boy and his dad came to play. The little boy, Julian beckoned by my daughter as simply, "Boy!" was a perfect playmate.  It's hard not to laugh a little when she does this but clearly there potentially a host of reasons why this is unacceptable. Not only is it a little bit racist even though the family was Bulgarian but we, as humans, should not simply be boiled down to our gender, for any reason. So we redirected her from calling him "Boy!" to calling him Julian.The kids played for a long time together. His dad was delightful, Eliot and he enjoyed casual conversation about playing soccer and he invited Eliot to go play pick up adult soccer on Sunday afternoons at a nearby school. My husband could not have been more excited.

We hung around for a long while, probably a little longer than necessary because we were having such a good time. There was a small group of high schoolers playing football respectfully in the grassy field and we feed the ducks. There weren't too many of them there but the kids still enjoyed it. Julian and Lydia hugged before they left and we decided that we would all see each other soon. A parents' first meeting much like a first date. Everyone is super excited to have some one to connect to, our new friend also had a wife at home with a new baby girl, a friend potentially for Vivian!

After doing my request research it turns out that this park suffered an arson almost a year ago. The families of the neighborhood were clearly shocked that someone or some group would target their park. Luckily, the city of St. Petersburg worked hard and replaced the playground in full. It is a brand new park tucked away and we are so happy we accidently found it.

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