There's Nothing a Chainsaw and a Few Volunteers Can't Do

Last Saturday we spent hours tearing down two play structures at Tai's school. And by "we" I mean Minh, my dad, and about 10 other volunteers. This is part of the new movement to stop young children from running, jumping, climbing, or generally having fun.

Actually, it was to make way for *newer* play structures that are bigger, better, and have more things upon which to run, jump, and climb. Although we send Tai to a ridiculously expensive facility on the campus of a wealthy liberal arts college, we can't seem to escape the "we-desperately-need-volunteers" and "let's-hold-a-bake-sale" mentality that I thought only persisted at rinky-dink operations.

Anyway, last week panic struck The Center when they found out that the new structures were coming soon and they had "no money" to pay anyone to take down the old ones. Naturally, they turned to Minh. Naturally, Minh called my dad.

Long story short(ish), the new director of The Center managed to coerce several teachers and parents into helping out, so that it was not just up to Minh and my dad to disassemble these large structures on their own. My mom played with Tai inside the school and I played Gopher -- running to the hardware store and to Atkins for lunch. I left the real work to the others, including the very pregnant woman who was actually due yesterday.

In the end, the structures came down. No one lost any limbs. No one went into labor. And Tai had a fantastic time. It was almost fun. And when we return from Maine next week, there should be two new climbing structures in place.

Now if only we could get a tuition break for all that hard work...