The boys are outgrowing their current swing set so we decided to upgrade to a Rainbow. There are no parks within walking distance and these boys live outside. We put the order for the new set in over the weekend so I went out, took some shots of our old swing set and promptly posted it to Facebook Marketplace thinking we would never sell this thing, especially in late November. Within 2 days I got several hits and the first person who came out to see it loaded it into their truck and drove away.
Fast forward to the following afternoon, it was nice so the boys wanted to go into the backyard to play. I caught my 4yo while he was putting his shoes on by the back door. The conversation was heartbreaking and went like this:
Mean Mommy: “Buddy, I have to tell you something. I think you and your brothers are getting a little too big for your swing set so yesterday we gave it to a family with two little boys who wanted a new swing set for Christmas. It was the perfect size for them.”
Raylan: Silence for about 20 seconds as he processed this new information, his face slowly turning from the excitement of going outside to play to the realization that he no longer had a swing set. “You got rid of my swing set?” As he said these words tears started to fill his beautiful brown eyes and my heart broke.
Mean Mommy: “Yes buddy, a new family with 2 boys really wanted to have it and since you and your brothers are getting too big for it, we thought we’d start looking for a bigger one.”
Raylan: Crossed his arms over his chest in an exaggerated gesture of frustration, then said, “Mommy that’s not very nice of you.”
Lincoln entered the living room.
Raylan: “Lincoln, guess what. Mommy got rid of our swing set!” Both boys ran to the window and confirmed it was indeed gone. Then Raylan, tears streaming down his face ran out the back door to the far corner of our yard, hugged his knees to his chest and just sat there.
Mean Mommy: “Baby, will you come here so I can talk to you?”
Raylan: “No, Mommy, I will not. “
This was probably one the saddest conversation I’ve had with my son in his 4 short years. I literally broke his heart. Man that new set can’t get here fast enough!
jenessalynn 