Tot Lot With Cover

Higley Estates Tot Lot and Sod in Park
My kids don't call this a tot lot; they call it a playground. But if they keep hanging around the Mister, this will change, too (all of us have begun to notice "water features" "edge conditions" and "paving patterns" - when we used to call them fountains, the side of the road, and the sidewalk, but that's a subject for a different post). My preoccupation with tot lots goes way back, to the time that my own children actually used them as playgrounds.

"Sweetheart," I'd say to the Mister, since I thought that might butter him up; "Sweetheart, we live in a beautiful climate that gets really really warm at times. But the kids still like to go to the park and the playground, and that equipment gets really really hot, even though they don't use metal slides anymore. How about putting some shade over those playground things, so your little darlings (and your Missus!) don't fry while they're out there playing?" The Mister would agree that this would be a fine idea, and he would see what he could do; but ultimately he would return with the news that the cover just wasn't the top priority, and there were cost considerations, we would put trees around the equipment to provide shade, etc., etc., etc. Needless to say, my kids did not get to enjoy a covered tot lot, and no doubt that was great character development for them. But now, lo and behold, a covered tot lot in Higley Estates! I am very excited for all the kids and their parents who will be able to enjoy it, and I hope that this is the wave of the future throughout the rest of the Ranch.

By the way, the Mister did point out that Higley Groves East went back and covered their tot lots after the fact; so it is catching on...