1. Natural Observation: West Jordan Park
“The girl” arrives with her father. She jumps out of the car and then heads
directly towards the kids at the playground. She sits down next to a stranger by
the sand and smiles as she introduces herself. She asks the young girl if she
wants to play with her and then together they run for the swings.
The girls get to the swing area; they take their shoes off and run through
the sand. Half way to the swings they decide to write their names in the sand in
big letters, then out of nowhere begin this big sand fight. Both girls begin crying
because they have sand in their eyes and with falling tears, they run to their
fathers sitting nearby.
I guess with kids, you never know what to expect, and sure enough, maybe
two minutes later, there they were, back to the playground. She walks back up to
her new friend and whispers something to the little girl. “Tag, you’re it.” She runs
to the slide and climbs up the top and across the bridge. Before she makes it to
the slide she falls down. She tries to get up but with no luck. Her friend comes
running to her aid and helps her get to her feet. As they reach the slide they make
an agreement to slide together. Both go down the slide without noticing a
puddle of water at the bottom. As they make it to the end of the slide, both girls

2. fall face first into a puddle of mud. I knew for sure the girls would begin crying
but instead they began to laugh. The two girls dressed in white were now covered
in mud.
Just when the fun looked like it
ended ducks begin to surround them as if
they wanted to play too. The girls laughed
and then turned scared once they were
cornered in. The girl’s fathers walked up
and gave the ducks bread to bring their
attention in another direction. Both
fathers, with their daughters, sat down at
the corner of the pond nearby. They took
their shoes and socks off and put their feet inside the pond. The girls stood up
and begin running in circles and singing their ABC’s.
In that moment, not a worry crossed either girls mind; it’s the innocence of
children that makes them so precious. As I continued to watch, I began to think
back when I was that age and as I saw the kids having more fun it only brought
back memories. When we sit back and notice our surroundings, we can
appreciate life and when we are young, the simple, easy things satisfy us.