The Playground

This afternoon I took a walk over to Pen Park. This being such a gorgeous warm afternoon, the playground was packed! As I walked toward it, it just looked like a busy jumble of kids and adults who were all in motion and somehow managing not to bump into each other. 
As I got closer, I first noticed a young stylish mother in a hijab pushing two happy kids on a "doubles swing" as a littler one stood by not so patiently waiting for her turn. The two kids on the swing next to them were trying their hardest to swing higher than each other as the swing squeaked loudly and they chattered (what I am assuming were), challenges to each other in Spanish. There was a small black boy on a tiny bike who obviously had just learned to ride a two-wheeler...he was going impossibly fast as his mom nervously watched and ran, alternatively shouting encouragement and trying to be ready to catch his inevitable fall. There were some little blond kids playing the huge chimes for an old couple who sat on the bench facing them, shoulder to shoulder smiling broadly, as the wind blew through their hair. There was an older man, a devoted grandfather I am assuming, who pushed a baby carriage so quietly that I imagined the child it contained had just fallen asleep after a long and napless day. There was also a group of Catholic school girls, still in uniform, chasing each other and a soccer ball and a little white boy whose mom was trying to teach him that sticks can hurt people...(I could tell he was not paying attention to her talk and really just wanted his sticks back...)
These are my neighbors. They share the park across from my home. They come in many colors, speak several languages, and represent the whole age range. 
They were all there together, on a beautiful afternoon, in one busy jumble enjoying the day and somehow managing not to bump into each other.