(Sharon continues her Notes from the Playground series)
When you take your kids to the park, say once, twice, maybe three times a day, you end up meeting lots of people. Well, more like you run into a lot of parents, who are in the same boat as you. Luckily for us, the hood seems to attract very cool “rents.” Folks are really down to earth, into their kids, and the neighborhood. And what’s not to like about the neighborhood? It’s classic Seattle – it’s got older homes with a lot of character, feels urban but homey, and has increasingly more young families than it did ten plus years ago when we moved in.
A few years ago, I found myself chatting with another mom as we watched our kids log roll down onto the playfield. I’d never seen her at the park before but we got to talking and after a few minutes of conversation we’d discovered that we both grew up in or near Portland. We started trading information about which high schools we went to and what places we used to hang out at, and before long, she was telling me that she and her twin sister went to high school with my husband. What a small world! I later met another woman, this time at Irwin’s, who as it turns out, also has a twin sister and went to high school with my husband. What are the odds?
Just this past summer, we spent a few days at the wading pool. I know it’s the place to be starting late June when both school and the sun are out, but for some reason our son wasn’t really into it much until the end of the season. To be exact, he totally fell in love with it the last week it was open. Go figure. Anyways, we ended up meeting this mom and daughter duo at the edge of the pool, and from what I could tell, the little girl was the belle of the ball. I don’t think they missed a single day of splashing around and soaking in the sun and she was just the cutest thing – dark golden ringlets, sun-kissed skin, and a bright smile that could light up a rainy Seattle day. To top it off, the mom was super friendly and let us try these amazing and ridiculously giant blueberries (practically the size of grapes) that are only sold locally for a month out of the year or something like that. It reminded me of one summer back when I was a kid, when I spent most weekdays hanging out at my friend’s private neighborhood pool. Everyone knew each other and things felt safe and happy – it was what I imagined the 50s were like – at least the glorified movie version. It was cool to have that same vibe but in a big city.
And just tonight, we ran into Jude and Jen, owners of Izilla Toys on Capitol Hill. We went there from time to time but became frequent customers when we moved into my father in law’s house during our remodel a few years ago. We were talking about bike racing as we watched the kids play around in the empty wading pool (which by the way, makes a great scooter/skate park for little ones – our son clocks some serious time there) and when I mentioned how much I liked the expanded book section at their store, they told us they were opening a new location in Wallingford Center this November. For now, I guess it’s a temporary thing but hopefully we can convince them to stay for good. With Trophy, ‘Lil Klippers, and a soon to open baby/children’s clothing store, it could become a mecca for local families. Add Kids on 45th, Molly Moons and the Farmer’s Market into the mix, and we’ve scored a jackpot. How cool is that?
When I go out walking with our baby I see a lot of other parents out there. I always thought the neighborhood was too expensive for families so I figured I only noticed the parents more because we were new parents.