One beautiful day this summer, Finn and I stumbled upon a hidden gem of a park near our house. How could this amazing place be so close to us and we never even knew it?! Finn and I both love being outdoors, yet in more natural settings. He loves playgrounds and sliding and swinging, but he loves getting dirty and playing in mud a lot too. I don't like playgrounds...they are packed, I don't feel like I fit in with the "mommy" crowd, especially in the area we live, and I feel like I have to watch Finn constantly. But parks like this one? I love them. I grew up roaming the outdoors with my siblings for hours on end, and rarely we went to traditional city parks with the playground equipment.
Usually, we are the only people around when we come to this park, and I can bring a book and read while Finn plays to his heart's content, or I'll practice my rock-skipping abilities (which are getting slightly better) on the river. I don't feel like I need to watch him constantly, and I'll call out if he's getting too far into the water or too far out of my sight.
Plus, we get to see a lot of fish, birds, snakes, squirrels, and geckos that we normally wouldn't see around our house or out and about. I think Finn enjoys the freedom he has here as well...getting to run as fast and as far as he wants in the wide open field, and getting dirty while he plays.
I try to overcome my dislikes for playgrounds, and I do take Finn to our local playground on occasion. He loves sliding and swinging very very much. :) It's just awkward sometimes. I feel like I'm on a first date with some of the moms as we try to make small talk and find common ground, or we just don't talk at all and just nod and smile. So awkward! Guess I need to work on my playground talk. But more often than not, you will find Finn and I exploring our new river park find and loving the outdoors.
If you are in the Indy area and want to check it out, it's called Hazel Landing Park and it's just north of 96th street on Hazel Dell Parkway.
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