Rookie mistake

On Tuesday I took Grace to the playground in our neighborhood, near the elementary school, around 4pm. I had a vague idea that it might be a little crowded, but... WOAH. Teeming with children doesn't even begin to describe it although seriously checked-out parents does.

Obviously it was not our crowd, but I figured we could brave it for a few trips down the slide and running around since the weather was so gorgeous. Grace was climbing around and I looked over at our stroller to see a young child (2 maybe?) sitting in it. I watched for a minute, expecting to see a parent come over and move him along. No one came and as he climbed in and out, he started to stand up on the seat. I didn't really care about the stroller, but worried that it could fall and he might get hurt, so I went to ask him where his mommy was. No response, just more climbing. Grace came over and started to take my keys out of the diaper bag, which prompted him to start digging through the pockets. I'm figuring that if I walk away, I'll come back to no phone, keys, etc. and I'm seriously wondering where the h is the parent of such a young kid.

I ask the cluster of parents nearby if they know whose kid he is (they don't) and turn around to realize Grace is gone. I locate her halfway across the park in the middle of a huge cluster of BIG kids and dogs, running along trying to pet the dogs. She is very tiny compared to all those elementary-schoolers! I leave to chase her down and the kid wanders off to start grabbing someone's picnic. A lot of time has passed since I first noticed him playing with the stroller and still no parent. Finally, the 10 month-pregnant lady goes over and pulls him off these poor peoples' snacks. Sheesh. I sort of wanted to tell her what he'd been up to so she would pay a little closer attention, but I don't want to be that person. It was hot, she was uber-pregnant, and nothing had actually happened.

Some big kids were using the baby slide, but I and another mom of toddlers persuaded them to let our kids take a quick turn (and it did require some negotiation). I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have said "we're doing stuff" when I was 6 or 8 if a random adult had asked if their baby could take the slide, although maybe. Then, a preschooler fell right in front of me and was crying and clutching her leg and calling mommy and no one responded. I asked her where her mom was and she just kept crying, so I started asking people if she was their child while the other toddler-mom picked her up. All while trying to keep Grace from diving off the equipment or running after dogs.

So we went home. The neighbors were out with the brood of boys so we played with them for a while. The moms said "Uh, yea. Can only go there in the mornings or evenings now that school has started." Lesson learned, though it's a bummer because it's a perfect after nap activity. I do kind of look forward to sitting on the sidelines while Grace plays, but maybe I won't be totally clueless when she's causing trouble for others? Or maybe I will be, and that's just part of the exchange for when your kids become too old to give you kisses in public?