A Hole in Our Backyard

 Last summer our neighbor asked us if we'd be interested in giving up our swingset.  Doug asked Cam and I what we thought and we both said, "No!"  I thought that'd we'd keep it until we decided to move and that way if we had grandchildren, they'd have a place to play.  Cam said that he still used it especially when his friends were over for a night of ghost in the graveyard.  Thus, the swingset stayed in place.

After one of our hammock trees had to be taken out this summer, I spent some time looking at the backyard from all different angles.  It had changed quite a bit since we had moved in twenty-two years ago.  We had to have trees cut down and we had trees that had fallen down.  We had added on and we had moved the deck.  We even recently changed our bonfire pit area closer to the house.  As I took a long hard look, I realized that we really didn't use the swingset anymore.  It had become something that we cleaned with every season, but that was about it.  Cam had been out on it every couple of weeks this summer, but overall the Heinisch family had outgrown one of its prized possession.  

I told Doug that if Cameron agreed that I'd be ready to part with our backyard playground.  Doug had talked so much about moving after Cam graduated that he had thought about it as well.  He didn't want to have to move the swingset himself and he was skeptical that another family would want it.  I asked Cameron what his thought was and he agreed, the neighbor girls would enjoy it more than we would.  

Doug let our neighbor know that we were willing to part ways with the swingset.  Today he and his future son-in-law arrived to take it apart for the move.  As I watched them start I almost felt myself run out there and say, "Stop!  I changed my mind."  It was as though life was changing just a little too fast for me.  I didn't need the Heinisch children to return to their days of endless playing in the backyard, but I just wasn't ready to say goodbye to it all either.  I called Meg and she said, "Mom it was a great swingset and we had a lot of fun with it, but it's time for it to go.  It doesn't look as nice as it used to and we just don't use it anymore."  That was all the pep talk that I needed and I was able to regroup and "let it go."  It was strange when I got back from tennis tonight to see the hole it left in our backyard.  It will take some time getting used to, but a few flowers next spring in that area will definitely help.