Sesame Street Part Two

I had meant to write this the same day that I finished part one, but obviously that didn't take place. Then while I was cleaning the house on Thursday I heard a familiar voice. Very funny! No, it wasn't in my head. Although, I will admit that I do talk to myself quite often. This voice came from the tv that was on in the living room. It was a commercial about asthma medication and there she was, Gina. That's how most of you would know her.

"Gina" is the veterinarian on Sesame Street, and one of the three actors from the show that I have met. Our children played at the same park when they were younger. The first time I met her I knew that she looked familiar, but I couldn't place her until I heard a little boy screaming that he wants his Elmo. He had buried it in the sandbox and couldn't find it. Then it dawned on me, and I turned to a mother next to me and said, "Isn't that..." "Yes, it's Gina from Sesame Street." I hadn't even had a chance to finish my question.

She wasn't surrounded by children or their parents. I don't even think the kids thought of her as someone other than another child's mom. I didn't get to know her too well, but she was always friendly and down to earth. She played in the sand, changed diapers and bought ice cream just like the rest of us. DB was a year older than her kids and at that age it made a big difference. So our kids played near each other but not together. Though there were times when DB would share his toy cars.

I haven't seen her around the neighborhood in quite a long time so I don't know if she still lives nearby. But I have seen her on bit parts on Law & Order, and in a commercial or two. Gina is still a regular on Sesame Street, and she looks exactly like the mom I knew in the park.

Swinging

Get your mind out of the gutter!! I'm talking about playgrounds. Last week I went with a friend and our children to a park. It was so much fun. I think I might have had as good if not a better time than the kids did.

The first place the munchkins headed was to the swings, and I was the designated pusher while my friend was on the phone trying to get a date. As soon as he hung up, I jumped onto an available swing and stayed there for at least a half hour. I only stopped swinging to take off my jacket. It was about 50 degrees out maybe a little more, and all that pumping and pushing was getting me hot even though I didn't have my shoes on. One had fallen off while I was flying through the air, and instead of stopping my fun to get it I just kicked off the other one.

I guess it looked like I was having a good time because my friend got on the swing next to me and away we went. When I looked over the playground it seemed that almost all the adults and some of the older children thought we were the main attraction, and I guess we were because of how far up we were able to get.

There was just no way that I was going to let him swing higher than I could. My stomach did little turns that made me giggle when I was at the peak of the swing and I came out of the seat a little. It felt like free fall. My laughter didn't stop there. I was just having so much fun and felt so alive that it would spontaneously burst out of me with a big grin on my face accompanying it.

I did get off the swings (reluctantly) when children were waiting for their turns, but only by jumping off. It was too bad that there was a fence because then I would have tried to jump off with the swing higher and higher in the air just like I did in fourth grade.

The next best thing to swinging is playing "run around." When you chase children and they run away from you yelling and screaming with big smiles on their faces while looking back to make sure that you're coming to get them. It all started with some crinkly, dry leaves and a child who decided that I would look great wearing them on my head. The children were trying to get them into my clothes, and I was just trying to make sure that my clothes were still covering my body. Only then did I ask my friend if it had been possible for people to see up my skirt while I was on the swings. He told me no because he had tried and didn't get to see anything. Of course, I couldn't stop cracking up at that.

We stayed in the park until the shadows were getting longer and the air turned colder. There was a part of me that wanted to stay until the park closed. That was when the adult took over and I left the child behind on the swings, but I took the smile and laughter with me.