Denied access . . . again

I didn't realize that baby swings were such hot commodities in Ottawa playgrounds.

Granted there is only one baby swing in a nearby park that is along one of our favourite walking routes, but three times this week I have tried to see if the swing was available, and three times we were denied access.

Darling daughter absolutely loves swings. She squeals in delights when we push the stroller into a playground with swings. There is another park we often go to that has two baby swings, but the mosquitoes have a tendency to buzz around us. Plus, the recent rain and hot weather have only made the mosquito problem worse. Darling daughter doesn't need to add to her already existent bug bite collection.

Lately we have been going on a lot of walks. Stopping at a playground is the highlight of these outings as darling daughter loves to giggles and smile as I push her. Twice this week the swing at the playground in question was occupied by a child, who just like darling daughter, delights in swing time. No big deal. Try again next time.

But tonight we were just about a meter away from getting to the swing. With darling daughter perched in her Zooper, dear husband and I could see the swing was vacant. A smile grew on my face. As we approached closer, there was a part of me that wanted to tell dear husband to run and reserve the swing. I know it was a very childish thought on my part, but since I had already been denied access twice this week I didn't want it to happen a third time. As we were about a meter away, a dad with a toddler intercepted our path and plunked his daughter into the swing. Denied access, again! Not to look like an idiot, I continued pushing on the path. I refused to look at the dad pushing his daughter in order to give the impression to the other parents on the playground that pushing my daughter in a baby swing was the last thought on my mind.

Dear husband thinks it was an intentional act on the dad's part. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. All I know there are a lot more swinging days in darling daughter's future and all I can do is try again next time.