Learning to Love

Callie unbuckled the car seat straps and lifted one-year old Jack from the car seat. She debated about getting the stroller out of the trunk and decided instead to carry him to the playground. The sun was shining and there was a light breeze ruffling the leaves on the oaks surrounding the park. Around the smaller trees were beds of marigolds, freshly planted. She was pleased to see it wasn’t too crowded, but it was a Tuesday, her normal day off work. Jack babbled happily and clapped his hands, his latest trick, as they approached the swing set. She plopped him in the baby swing and gave him some gentle pushes. He squealed for more, and she pushed him harder. He had no fear; he hadn’t learned that yet and she hoped he never would, but knew it wasn’t likely.

As she pushed, she reflected on the last year. She was a younger mother, but certainly old enough. Jack’s dad, Scot, had proposed to her, and the wedding was in the works. She was working two jobs currently and was lucky enough that her family lived in the area so they could tag team babysitting Jack when both she and Scot were working. They were currently living with her mother in a three-bedroom, two-bath ranch near the park, and were saving to buy a home. All in all, considering that neither she nor Scot had finished college, she thought they were doing pretty well. They had both been athletes with multiple scholarships, so they weren’t overly burdened with student loans like many of their peers, but they did need to both focus and decide what career they wanted to pursue. For now, though, they were just focusing on raising Jack and saving money. The pandemic had made it hard for them to find new jobs, but hopefully things would improve soon.

She hadn’t noticed the woman who was now swinging a little girl in the swing next to her; she smiled and said hello. The woman, a tall black woman with pink hair piled high on her head, smiled back and they both continued pushing their babies.

“It’s beautiful out today,” the woman said. “Hi, I’m Angela.”

“Hi, I’m Callie. Yes, it’s a gorgeous day. Your baby is adorable. This is Jack, by the way. He just turned one a couple of weeks ago.”

“My, he’s a big boy! This is Faith and she’s 18 months.” Faith was small with tiny beaded braids pulled up into a ponytail. She was laughing along with Jack as they flew in the air. Callie and Angela chatted about the kids and their jobs. Both had gone to school nearby, although their high schools were rivals. Both had been athletes in high school, although Angela was a soccer player and Callie had played softball. They were both engaged and living at home with parents for now. The housing market in the area was out of control, and it was hard to find anything affordable for young people starting out.

“I think we’re going to try the baby slide. Jack loves sliding. Does Faith like sliding?” She pulled Jack out of the swing’s seat and walked towards the yellow plastic slide. He clapped his hands again, excited for the new adventure. He joyfully yelled words nobody understood yet.

“Yes, she loves it.” Angela pulled Faith from her swing and followed along.

Callie set Jack down and he climbed up the three steps of the slide and sat down. Callie waited for him at the bottom. He paused and grinned at her and then pushed himself off. She caught him at the bottom and he clapped again. Faith went next and laughed infectiously. They were all laughing. Jackson was already on his way back up the ladder before Faith got to Angela, but there was plenty of time to move her out of the way before he barreled down the slide again, this time landing on his feet instead of being caught. He started rushing to the ladder again, but Callie held him back. “We need to take turns, Jack. It’s Faith’s turn.” He pulled at her restraining arm, trying to get free and whimpered. “He’s not good at sharing and taking turns yet,” she explained to Angela.

“No, they’re COVID babies – they’re not so good at playing with other kids. They’ll get there, though.”

Faith slid down again, and Callie let Jack go back to the ladder. He slid down, and this time he stopped and looked at his mom. “Faith’s turn,” said Callie. He frowned but let Faith go ahead of him. As Callie watched Faith go down the slide, she turned to grab Jack’s hand and saw that he had wandered towards the nearest tree. He bent down over the flowers and picked a handful of marigolds. “Oh, no, Jack. Don’t pick . . .” It was too late; they were already in his hands. He toddled back over to them and held the flowers out to Callie. She took one and thanked him. Not much you can do once they’ve already been picked she thought. She was sure the park district had a rule against picking flowers, but he was one. Time enough to learn the rules later. He headed back towards the slide but stopped and held a flower out to Faith. She giggled and took the flower and started to put it in her mouth.

“No!” shouted Angela and Callie at the same time as they laughed. “Although,” said Angela, “I think marigolds are edible so it wouldn’t hurt her.” Jack held his last flower out to Angela, who took it and placed it behind her ear. “Thank you, Jack. That’s so sweet of you.” He smiled happily and went back to the steps of the slide.

“We’re heading home soon – just stopped by for a quick play time. Do you come here a lot?” Angela asked.

“Pretty much every Tuesday – that’s the only day I don’t work,” Callie replied.

“Girl, I feel you,” said Angela. “I’m off on Tuesdays and half days here and there, but it’s a lot with a little one. Would you be open to doing playdates in the future so these two can learn socialization and maybe be friends?”

“I’d love that,” said Callie. They exchanged numbers, and Angela picked up Faith and walked away. Callie studied the yellow, rapidly wilting marigold in her hand as Jack climbed up and slid down the slide repeatedly since he no longer had to share. She finally picked him up to leave, and he started screaming. She was guessing he didn’t want to leave. Jack was robust – he could play for hours by himself. He was definitely a pandemic baby. She hadn’t really thought about it much until recently, but suddenly the weight of the last year crashed down on her mentally. Jack had so much to learn, and she was the one that had to teach him. He stopped screaming, sensing her mood, and gave her a kiss, his other new trick. The weight lifted immediately. Everything was going to be okay.