In my neighborhood there is a recreation center called Lawncrest Rec. There are things that go on there all year round. They have teams for every sport, they have a playground that I spent a lot of time on as a child. When I was younger, I used to take gymnastics at the rec center. We had practices and final performances just like regular dance schools. They really make you feel apart of the community by having interacting and engaging things or children in the neighborhood to do. Since I was a kid up until now they have so much going on for the youth to be involved in.
My neighborhood is not the worst but it also is not the best and a lot of things go on within the streets that children shouldn’t be exposed to. I think it’s really good that they have this rec center in my neighborhood because of everything that is going on. They do swimming in the summer that is open to anybody that wants to come, arts and crafts to keep kids busy while parents may be working or have to run errands that would be easier and quicker without their small kids. My friends and I used to run around the playground, bringing our younger siblings pretending they were our babies putting them in the swings. We would walk around with them on our hips and in their strollers, all in good fun. I remember always having a few dollars to go and get water ice and I would feed it to whoevers kid I had at the time. We would bring our double dutch ropes and play in the open space next to the rec but in between the playground and in front of the basketball court.
There’s a basketball court behind the rec and next to the playground where we used to watch the boys play basketball. They were so competitive as if they were in the NBA and it made it so much more fun to watch because they were so serious and it was so intriguing. The bleachers would be full, people would be standing outside of the gates just to watch them play or be apart of the crowd. And then there’s just a bunch of grass and space with picnic tables to just hang out and we used to hang out there eating snacks from the corner store. On July 4th, we would go there to watch the fireworks and during the summer when it got too hot, we would walk across the pathway to the Free Library and sit in the AC, maybe read books we were familiar with and then back to the rec we would go. These days I’m too old to enjoy all of the fun at the recreation center, but my 11 year old brother is always there almost everyday when the weather is nice riding bikes, getting water ice and pizza and playing basketball. It’s always good to see the memories I had as a child live on and get passed down to the younger generation.