Don't You Miss Having Recess?

I do. I don't think I have had a good dose of recess since Grade School. Of course I have taken the kids to a park many times, but its just not the same. For one thing, I am fat now. But to be honest, playing at the park had lost some of its brilliance even before I got fat. Little kids have it all good. I can't even come close to doing many of the things I used to be able to do as a child. The climbing on very high bars without getting nervous, jumping off the swings when they got to their highest point, running without feeling like I need to keep my thighs and rear from flapping. Things change, and sometimes I feel like I can barely remember what it was like to run and play and feel free. Here are some barriers I have found to enjoying recess as a grown-up.
#1. Width. I am considerably wider than I was as a child. It seems to me that most grown-ups are wider than kids, even short, skinny, grown-ups. Width is a factor in two specific areas of playground play...The first being slides. Sure, there are some wide slides, but they are usually not very long, so it doesn't make for as fun of a ride. The second thing that width affects is one of the things I miss the most. Swings. I do still sit on the swings, and I even still swing, and get pretty high on them. But they are simply not comfortable. Its not like I am wider than the swing itself, but once I am in it, the sides of the swing bite into the outside of my thighs, and its just uncomfortable. There is no joy in a swingset anymore, just regret that I can't enjoy it like I used to. It doesn't stop me from trying. I am, in fact, wondering if I would do better on a swing made from a straight board, because that would reduce the discomfort, but I think it would change the whole feel of swinging as well. As a kid, I remember that we would have kids lay down on the ground in a row in front of the swings and we would jump off of the swings at the highest point and jump over all the kids laying there. I can't remember anyone ever getting hurt, but I would never attempt anything so dangerous now.
#2. Gravity. I guess I could put down weight on this one instead, but it feels like gravity. I don't think I have the same muscle to mass ratio as a grown up and certainly not since I got fat. Hanging on the bars is a struggle, let alone trying to hang upside down or spin on the bars. You would think that extra weight might be good on a slide, but somehow it keeps you from going as fast as you could as a child. Gravity also keeps me from climbing to the top of places and walking across the monkey bars and such...All things I did with ease as a child.
#3. Height. I can't crawl around under tight spaces the way I did as a child. I wonder if they could make a playground scaled to adult sizes where the swings, slides and general size of everything would be easier for us to navigate. Wouldn't it be great if they could make a giant playground for grown-ups? I bet they could make some money off of it anyhow.
#4. Flexibility. Lets face it...a lot of us are not nearly as flexible as we were as children. Sure there are flexible adults who practice various martial arts or do their pilates religiously. I am not one of them. I can't do nearly the number of cool things I could as a child.
#5. Experience. This one could also be found under the heading of fear. Real life and living in it has given us enough experience to understand the risks involved in running across a jungle gym at full speed while 10 other kids do the same thing. How scary it is to jump off of a swing, and having grown up, we don't have that sense of being indestructible that many kids enjoy.
So how do we get recess? For me, its more enjoying nature. Going on a hike or walking the beach. For some its going on a bike ride. I miss that too. I need to get back on my bike and actually enjoy riding again. I spent over 10 years of my childhood (from about age 10 to my early 20s without a bike, and then when my bike got stolen I spent another 10 years without a bike. I just got a bike again last Christmas and I have only tried it out briefly, a short ride of a couple of blocks. The width, gravity, height, flexibility and fear have affected me there as well. I think I feel a certain amount of envy when I go out in the yard and hear the sounds of kids playing at the school behind our house. I hope they enjoy their recess while they can...I don't think I will ever truly get it back.