It’s never too cold for a trip to the playground, especially when the playground comes with a spinner. You can see it in the rosy faces of Caitlin Lombardi’s children Maple, age 7, Alma (5) and Pearl (2), whirling like dervishes at the new Fort Ward playground.  

“The spinner has been wildly popular,” Lombardi said, “and they are all three on there. I can only make it around once before I’m too dizzy. But they have an endless capacity to get themselves twisted up.” 

Not long ago, the Lombardi clan would pack up the car and head to playgrounds around the island: Shel Chelb, Owen’s Playground or the smaller tot lots in Winslow, sometimes the expansive KidsUp! at Battle Point Park. 

Playgrounds weren’t a family-time option; they were an imperative. 

“We need to go,” Caitlin Lombardi said, channeling her kids, […]