Well, we kept hearing rumblings. "The park is coming down for new housing." The bad news had been circulating for a while and nothing definite had happened, so I suppose, maybe, we kind of thought it was indeed just a rumor.But today, we got down there and it was for real. The broken park is broken forever. It is very exciting that new housing is going in there, but..."Good-bye broken park."
So, we moved on down the road just a little, into a bit of a crescent, thinking it would be a safe place for the kids to play. Let's just say we were met with less than a warm and inviting welcome. More of a door slammed in our faces, literally. So, we prayed for guidance, dismantled the tents and went for help.
Within seconds of showing up on Grandma Lena's door, she was out in the rain in her trusty chair banging on doors, convincing people to let us park in their driveways. And. It worked. Just like that. Grandma got the job done. I really never had any doubt.
And the kids found us. We weren't too far from our normal spot, but it was different. And they didn't care. They played, they snacked on Valentine's cupcakes and they made the best of it. So all of us adults took their cue.
We set up 'road patrols'. Mostly TC guys who stood on the road and yelled 'CAR', so we could clear all the bikes, skippers, etc. out of the way to let the vehicles pass. And you should have seen the looks we got. We've been down there a few Sundays now and none of us could recall there being so much traffic. You could see the grins on most of the drivers' faces as they patiently waited for us to make way. Pretty impressive P.R.I was chatting with Grandma and surveying the scene and felt like we had just had our own version of Acts 8:1. "On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria." We kind of got the boot from our regular stomping grounds, only to land in territory we hadn't reached yet. The driveway we ended up parking in was right between two houses with little kids in them. None of them had been to visit us on a Sunday yet, even though they could see the park from their front steps.
There is NO WAY you don't come out and join a bunch of crazy people in the rain, playing loud music and eating pink cupcakes; when they are parked in YOUR driveway with a big white van and bright green and blue trailer. You just cannot avoid that.
And so, we met two new families that we likely would not have, had we stayed put on the playground. Go figure.
So, what's next for Kidzone on the Road? Only God knows. But we aren't worried. We will just keep showing up down there, and if today is any indication, at least half the people will let us park in their driveways.So, kudos to an amazing team today that just rolled with the punches and did what needed to be done. I say, "Way to go team! Now, let's get scattered."
