The playground had been renovated years earlier.
There were soft safety surfaces beneath the equipment.
Bright painted structures.
New benches.
Nothing looked exactly as it had twenty years ago.
But I remembered.
I would always remember.
Then Iris called:
"Ready, Mommy!"
I smiled through my tears.
"Ready."
I gave her a gentle push.
She laughed.
"Higher!"
I pushed again.
Her dark curls flew behind her.
Sunlight flashed across the chains.
Beside us, Leo shrieked with delight as Nigel pushed his swing.
For a moment, I stood completely still.
Then I began laughing.
Not because I'd forgotten what happened.
But because the place that had once represented the end of my childhood was now filled with the laughter of my own children.
Nigel looked toward me.
His eyes were wet.
I smiled.
And for the first time, the memory of the swing no longer belonged entirely to fear.
***
Afterward, we sat together on a bench while Iris and Leo played nearby.
