Today Polina and I visited the Seattle Japanese Garden with another mom, Tina, and her daughter, Riley.  We originally met each other the old-fashioned way- in person in the children’s section of our local library.  Our children began playing together and I was impressed by how kind her daughter was to Polina.  They played well together and we exchanged numbers. 

That was over a month ago.  I was looking for things to do on meetup when I saw her RSVP in a group to which we both belonged.  This was a sign, I thought.  After going to meetup groups for over two years and not connecting with anyone outside of the groups, I meet someone in person and then find them on a mutual meetup group a couple weeks later.  The internet, and meetup in particular, got the last laugh after all.  I contacted her through meetup and we got together for what turned into a beautiful day.

I hadn’t been to the Japanese garden in years.  You know how the years roll by and you wonder what you did with them?  That’s what it feels like in my head when I try to remember the last time I was there.  I remember wanting to return, but the arboretum across the street, while not as manicured, was free, so we went there instead.

The timing turned out to be perfect.  The leaves had just begun to change color and show their blazing display.  Earlier that morning, I felt chilly.  I hate being cold, so I dressed in layers.  Three of them, to be exact, plus a jacket I carried beside me… just in case.  Tina, on the other hand, had on a t-shirt.  It turned out not to be a cold day.  Not long after we entered the garden, Polina decided to take off her shoes and walk barefoot.  That gave Riley an idea to do the same.

“Sorry, ” I apologized to her mom.  “If she’s setting a bad example.  She likes to run barefoot.”

Tina didn’t mind, and before long, the girls were walking together barefoot over gravel stones.  Neither of them minded.

“You just have to get used to it,” Riley said.

We came upon a pond with koi that have apparently learned to approach humans for food.  Tina got some food for them from the admission desk and both girls enjoyed feeding the fish.  They asked for more food, but the front desk limits the amount of food dispensed to each customer.  I resorted to using leaf stems to retrieve pellets lying between the boards of the bridge we were standing on.  I felt like Eleanor Rigby, except with fish pellets instead of rice.

Afterward, while Tina and I talked, Polina and Riley picked leaves off the ground and threw them up in the air like confetti.  They were engaged in “free play,” something that is becoming rarer these days as academic pressures seep into preschools.  If there is time for play, it is often organized.  There was something comforting about watching these girls play side by side and find wonder in their surroundings.  They were exhibiting the spirit of childhood.

After walking around the garden, we went to a local beach.  Again, the girls engaged in free play while Tina and I talked.  They built castles, wrote and drew pictures in the sand with sticks, squished sand between their fingers and covered their toes with it.  Isn’t that the good life?

When we went to the playground across the street, Polina looked very “country-ish” compared to the children there.  Barefoot, hair disheveled with wet and sandy pants folded to her shins, she looked like she just got off a boat from some forgotten island.

Polina didn’t want to leave the playground.  I’m sure she could have played there until she completely melt down from exhaustion, but we had to leave to avoid rush hour.  After a tearful protest, Polina fell asleep in the car.  After we got home, we had dinner and I got her ready for bed.  After some reading, I kissed her good night.  It was 8 o’clock.

Tomorrow is another day.  More adventures await, but I was pretty happy with this one.