The History of the Playground, Without the Half-Memories

In our visit to the playground, Daniel wanted to know when it was built, and is it true that Mommy helped build it. I explained that Mommy helped build it by organizing some of the fund-raising. This had little meaning for Daniel. I explained further that it costs a lot of money to build a play-ground, so the trick is to try to get local stores to help pay for it. I also mentioned that I myself participated in the physical construction of it - one of these classic "community projects." Needless to say, after we arrived in the playground, Daniel sought out a precise inventory of which swing/slide/etc. items I particularly worked on, down to the discrete sections themselves. One of the items was one of the spin-rides: "Oh, I always get dizzy on that," was his approximate response. (Of course, he proceeded to get dizzy again today.)

But on the way, he wanted to know whether Mommy had helped in the physical building of the site. I told him that Mommy was quite pregnant with Madeleine at the time. (Actually, the building took place a few days after Madeleine was born; I suppose Mommy could have joined the crew...) Daniel wanted to know how old he, himself, was at that moment. I told him two-and-a-half.

It turned out that his memory wasn't quite that nuanced - not so much because the age was so young, as because it was a fraction:

"Well, I don't remember being a half."

(February 5, 2012)