The Playground

We finally built the playground. Can you imagine the torture of being a boy that loves climbing trees, surrounded by a forest, yet no tree has branches that you can reach? James decided that we would have to go home as there are no trees in America that he could climb. So, we had to have something outside on which they could all play. We didn’t want a small thing that would not survive active play. The local hardware store (Home Depot – similar to Hardware House) had a home playground kit. All the screws and bits were supplied - just add lumber. Easy.

First problem: How do we get it home? The car we had wouldn’t fit the lumber, and I did not yet have a US driver’s license or insurance in my name. Luckily, the Ogburns were able to assist and we used Ward’s dump truck to transport the wood.

Can you guess who was the builder and who was the assistant?

Next Problem: It’s a lot of wood, and it all needs to be cut. And put together. And it’s all quite heavy. Step in another local family – The Floyds. David Floyd is a builder/carpenter and teaches at the local College (cross between TAFE and University). He likes this type of stuff, so I passed wood, held up bits, held screws and was general builder’s assistant. Over two Saturdays we constructed the playground. Lana and Vicky Floyd fed the troops and the children kept asking, “Can we play on it yet?” Now that it’s built, James reckons we can stay a bit longer.