The boys had another Friday off of school. And again the day started off gray and a little damp, but my friend Deb and I decided to risk it and head to Chutes and Ladders. This park, down in the southwest metro, has miles of trails around wetlands, lakes, and prairies, but the real draw is the gigantic playground that includes a huge complex of slides and cargo nets and ladders. We pulled into the parking lot and the boys immediately disappeared into the playground. Deb and I stayed huddled in our recently unearthed fall coats/hats/mittens. But then Eli called out and asked if the boys could take on the moms in a game of Capture the Flag. We of course tried to redirect them to other activities which would leave us sitting on the outskirts, but they would not be put off. Within five minutes I had to peel off my coat, then hat, sweatshirt...it is quite a game on flat ground, but when you are peeling around a crazy cargo-netted boy-sized heaven, it gets the blood flowing. In the end I found their flag and in a move that should be on some type of instant replay, flung it to Deb who then sprinted to what we thought was the boundry of our territory and therefore victory. And she made it. Only the boys claimed that the district had been secretly gerrymandered right at the very moment of our triumph. We pretended to believe them and went along with the return of their flag. But in our hearts we know. We won. After they were all but led to our flag we were able to eat lunch outside in the sun. Then we took a hike around the lake which included sightings of beavers and frogs. It had once again turned into a gorgeous day spent entirely outdoors.
And the next morning I woke up and could not figure out why I was so sore. Dang crazy tag games.
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