A 20 oz. Diet Coke and a foot long "line" of strawberry (ahem...pink) Laffy Taffy.
And we're off. With Iree in the umbrella stroller, Maizie in her pink tennies, and me-trying to figure out how in the world to multi-task pushing the stroller, corralling Maizie, and balancing the purple bouncy ball that we've brought with us.
Obstacle #1: Managing children in a small gas station, with everything displayed at toddler eye-level. For some reason, there is an old pleather covered chair taking up half of the 4 x 5 store, so Maizie has a place to stay. This is where the $1.77 comes in. I pay a grease covered mechanic with coins from a ziplock baggie.
Obstacle #2: The construction on the corner. This has torn up the crosswalk. Crossing Penn Ave. at any time of day is bad, including lunchtime. I have no idea where all these people are going, but they are there nonetheless. So we have to cross in the middle of the street, which is a bit freaky.
Anyway, we keep walking. We're going to "a field." I have no plan, I just know that if I don't get away from baby-food covered walls we might not make it through the day. The field is about 2 blocks away, which means it's a six hour walk, give or take .
So we arrive at our destination, this little playgroundless park that is on the creek. I pull out the purple ball and Maizie starts kicking. We find a bench and eat our "snack." Iris has some, too (of course), and we're sticky and off again. Next stop, a footbridge that goes across the creek. We toss in some leaves on one side and look down the other to watch float away. And we're off as fast as that started. I think I could do that all day, but whatever. Further down the "park" are 4 tennis courts. I can barely see Penn Ave. now, which scares me, because not only do we have to walk all the way back through the park but back home as well. But what else are we going to do?
So Maizie gets her purple ball and bounces it and kicks it all over the tennis courts. I get Iree out of her stroller and she butt scoots around the tennis court, eating rocks and bugs and other natural objects (the original organic, right?). Maizie is singing the same song over and over, a line of it is "A ball is fun for all!" And I'm soaking up the last of the summer, the autumn leaves, and pretending I'm Ma Ingalls with a Diet Coke.
Finally, we head back again, and of course we have to do everything that we did on the way out. So it's back over the footbridge, toss some leaves in, back through the park, listen for birds, count the squirrels, kick the ball, up the hill, and Maizie gets about two feet onto the sidewalk on Penn when she sits down like Lucy my late basset hound used to do. So I pick her up on my right hip, push the stroller with my left hand, weave through the construction, and finally back home.
Two hours later. (If you're a stay at home mom you'll understand how LONG two hours can seem some days, so it's a big deal.)
My point? I liked being a mom today. Because I decided to get out of my stuffy situation, out of myself, and actually go ENJOY my children, the time flew. It was one of those rare days. And no, the dishes are not done. The baby food is STILL on the wall (but I'll probably take care of that soon since Iris hasn't really been eating baby food for a few months...), and the laundry baskets aren't getting any emptier.
My other point? It was in that calmness and simplicity that we found joy. No flashing toys or DVDs. No expensive outing to the children's museum. Not that those things don't have their place at times. But it was each other that brought the peace and joy that I often long for.
That and a nice cold Diet Coke.
