The pirate playground

I promised my little boy a playground after I opened my mouth too quickly. Then we built him a pirate ship for less than $200.

When he was little I took him to our neighborhood park, and we left after teenagers showed up smoking pot, cursing, and spitting on the equipment. He cried in the car because he thought he had done something wrong. I told him we were just there getting ideas for the playground we were going to get him. Great save. Except now I had promised him a playground.

New playsets nearly knocked me out of my chair. My husband was looking at a job that would cut his salary in half. I had started taking pro bono special education cases. Our son was starting preschool. When I mentioned the price, my husband looked at me like I had lost my mind. Our son kept asking. So I told him we were going to make him something special instead.

A few days later I found this old wooden set for $75 if we took it apart and hauled it ourselves. We did. We rebuilt it with new hardware, fixed the rough spots, and then I took over. White paint. A black-and-white striped canopy from outdoor fabric. Rubber mulch. Pirate accessories. A little sandbox. A hand-painted treasure map with a note to him on the back. When we moved, the playground stayed. The map came with us.

It was not new or expensive. It is still one of the projects I think about, because of how much heart went into it.

If you have ever promised something with your whole chest and then had to figure it out, I would love to hear.

#diyplayground #beforeandafter #handmade #pirateplayground #makersgonnamake #weeklycraft #throwback

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