The backyard sandbox that was supposed to be temporary
https://www.afterpickup.com/backyard-sandbox/
Years ago, when we moved into our 1961 rambler, we wanted to spruce up the backyard a bit. There was a section we did not really know what to do with, so we filled it with sand and called it a sandbox until we figured out what that spot was for.
The two boys were very young then, and they loved it the way you would expect, a huge success from the start. Even now that they are older, they still play there, especially when other kids are visiting, though the type of play has changed as they have grown. We pull the hose out so they can dig canals and make little tsunamis, and that sensory play complements the soccer, seating, and scooter play in our yard well enough that the sandbox is still very much in use.
At some point we refilled it with coarser sand, and that was fine for a few years, but the kids complained it was not as nice as beach sand. When it was time to refresh the pile again, we went with a finer grain, and they tell us it is much better, soft enough to dig and still solid enough to hold a canal wall when the hose comes out.
For some unexplained reason, zero cats poop in the sandbox. When one of us was a kid and had a sandbox of our own, we had to cover it or the neighborhood cats treated it like their bathroom. Ours just sits open in the yard, and somehow that particular problem never showed up.
What started as a holding pattern for a weird corner of the backyard turned into the place the kids still run to with friends. Temporary stuck, and we are glad it did.