greens 1

our street lies within 3/4 mile of no less than five greens, of varying size. a city green is just what it's name implies: a sizable, flat plot of grass carved into the cityscape. our greens exist diversely between major thoroughfares, adjacent to the thames, behind walled gardens, and at the foot of old massive mansions. during our first few weeks here, i found myself nonplussed by these spots, even though school mums would point out to me how fortunate we were to live in such a "leafy" burrough. the kids caught onto their charms right away, however. as soon as we reached one, they sprinted through them wildly, little arms pumping, faces to the wind. imagine a dog tugging at the leash, and upon release, bounding through the grass, tongue a-flapping.

turns out we NEED those spaces. the endless parade of buses and taxis and autos on the high street leave our senses exhausted. the greens provide a necessary respite.

we take bats, balls, balloons, bubbles when we go. i pitch the basball to joe, even though i die a little each time we play. in my fantasy, a man wearing a cubs hat steps out from behind one of the big ol trees that encircle these spaces, and says in a midwestern accent, "we must get that boy into the english baseball school right down this road that serves as a feeder club for chicago. he may pull left, but he's hitting 85% and anticipating the heck out of the ball. he's a natural." and off we go.

so while many british boys joe's age have their first go with a cricket bat, joe swings his baseball bat. it is a gorgeous sight.