I went to the park yesterday. I go once a month, and for those few hours, I get to escape all the petty annoyances of my life and just immerse myself in nature. I get to be surrounded by children’s laughter and women asking me, “How are you doing?” rather than, “How do you do it?” They don’t view me as extraordinary or unusual because they have a daily routine just as challenging as my own.
We know each other well, we know each other’s kids, we’ve held each other’s babies. It’s a nice group of moms. Whenever I consider giving up on my “profession” I continue because of them. There were about fifteen families at the park yesterday. I conversed with various clusters of individuals. The topics centered around quality healthcare which takes a minimalist approach on medications and vaccinations, proper ways to receive the sacraments, the difficulties encountered when ensuring the moral upbringing of our children, ways to be charitable toward neighbors while still warding off their negative influences on our families.
This unique group of mine, so conservative and quaint, concerns themselves with topic most people never consider. Yet I admire them because these women are thoughtful, passionate, and authentic. I’ve never received a scoff or stare or snide remark from any one of them. They are all friendly, even if I don’t quite know some of them well enough to call them friends.
There were at least fifty kids on the playground yesterday. Not a single skirmish occurred. It rarely does. Sometimes sand gets thrown on a little tot’s head. But there’s hardly ever pushing or shoving, name calling or teasing. I can expect my kids to enjoy themselves while we’re there.
And I can expect to enjoy myself too.
