“Lets go to the park,” I suggest to my nieces’ four-year-old daughter.
“Yeah, the park, the park,” Kaia shrieks.
“Hold my hand,” I say. We walk three doors down and there’s a Super Mario Halloween display in my neighbours’ yard. Luigi and Mario sit in tiny cars. It’s a feast for the eyes.
Two bowls are set out in the driveway, one with treats and another with toys in plastic bags. Kaia chooses carefully. A yellow ring, a bracelet, a toy car and Smarties.
“Let’s get going,” I say. A block away, beside a bench, there’s a tiny fairy sitting in a hole in a log. The fairy has been there since the spring and it never moves. Kaia gives it a kiss.
Half a block away, perched on some driftwood, there’s a treasure box wrapped in plastic with a note – ‘Take one, next time leave one.’
Kaia opens the box wide eyed. She chooses a Halloween note pad and pencil.
“Can I take this home?” she asks. “Yes”, I say, “And next time we will leave something.”
We walk by a cafe where scarecrows and pumpkins grin at us. Seniors say hi and smile, dogs sniff the pavement.
We turn the corner and there’s the park. It’s Friday afternoon, so it’s busy. There’s a group of Mums and Dads enjoying drinks huddled around a picnic table.
About 20 kids are digging holes, chasing each other, crying, asking to go to the bathroom and having a ball.
Kaia giggles as she swings, slides, climbs and we give each other the bumps on the see saw.
At the park there’s a share a book box sponsored by the Tsawwassen Rotary Club. I pass her books to look through, she decides on Thomas the Tank Engine.
The sun is setting and it’s time to go home. She doesn’t want to leave, but the promise of using a sharpener for the Halloween pencil is enticing.
At home I take off her pink rubber boots and I feel a rush of gratitude for the people who made that extraordinary little walk to the park magical. These gestures of community building are based on kindness, and must not be taken for granted.
Things cost more, and people are lonely, so spread a little kindness, and imagine what you can do to make a walk in your neighbourhood memorable.
Ingrid Abbott is a freelance writer who can’t wait for grandchildren.
