Global warming may save us

I took my kids to the playground today, in February. Instead of being locked in the house with them as they made an increasingly insane circuit of TV, kitchen cabinets (good for crawling into and pulling things out of, dontcha know) and playpen - good for cage matches - the kids and I were chasing each other around a playground. It's always fun to see kids back at the playground after a long break. Katie was delighted that she could walk from the playground equipment to the swings, and that she had finally trained me well enough that I would push her in the swing if she walked up to it and started smacking it. Christopher and Matthew spent very little time on the playground but a lot of time chasing each other around the adjoining tennis court. Kiddie handcuffs that I had picked up at the grocery store on a whim were the best $4 I ever spent. They turned the tennis courts into the police station and spent an hour arresting each other and me. Of course, when we got home, there was still running, screaming and wrestling in the playpen. But after an hour at the playground on an unexpected sunny February afternoon (thank you, carbon output!), it was all more ... sane.