Last week we had a few moments to kill downtown while waiting to pick up one of the kids' friends at the hospital (not really as weird as it sounds). We went to one of my childrens' favorite places to play - the Children's Park.
This park was built within the past few years and is right on South Broadway by Hogg middle school. It is built down into a hidden area where the traffic of Broadway seems to fade away. The park was built by the Children are a Gift foundation and was supported by many, many people here in Tyler and then donated to the city for upkeep. This park's goal was to serve as a memorial for the many loved children in Tyler who have died but also to honor those children still with us.
There are many sad memories for me here as a labor and delivery nurse - I walk the paths and remember names of families and babies that I have crossed paths with during sad times. My mother thinks that it is kind of morbid but I also have happy memories as I see a new stone added with the name of a child who has been added to a bereaved family.
Best of all I love to see my children play here - there are no swing sets, no rides and nothing fancy. Just a well planted garden, some statues and some waterfalls. They love to watch the fish and tadpoles (that's what they call them, I always make them bathe when we get home) in the pond and when it's warm I let them take off their shoes and go wading or splash in the water fall. We rarely come home dry.
The next pretty day take your kids to the children's park - it's a good reminder of how precious they are!
And it's a great thing about Tyler.
1 comment:
Great post Cathy. I always forget about the Children's park. Maybe Grace and I will visit it this week. Thanks for the reminder. I know I will recognize names on the path as well.
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