Getting fresh air is ALWAYS a positive thing. Feels good to get out, see things, feel the sunshine, teach your children about the world. You know... "stay on the sidewalk, watch for cars, wait for the little green man before we cross the street, this is a stop sign.." yaddy yaddy yaaa. All fun and enjoyable, right?
Well, sometimes. For the most part. I mean, it is definitely an experience.
So, today, I decide that I'm going to take my two rug rats on a nice, long, relaxing walk. Wear 'em out, get them ready for nap time. Before we leave the house I have to change the baby's diaper, make sure the older one uses the toilet, get us something to drink, and a snack. Make sure I have an extra diaper or two, a burp rag, my keys, money (just in case), and my cell phone. Of course then I have to pee. Baby starts crying so I figure I better feed her before we leave. Oh then she pukes all over me, so I have to change my shirt. Of course during all of that my son decides to take his shoes off, but then can't remember where he put them. Okay, it's fine, I've got this. Find the shoes, put them on, pop out the stroller, load it up and head out the door. Oh, wait.. Yes, son, you can bring two toys. No, not that huge dump truck, it is too big. No, you don't need five stuffed animals. Two small toys, hurry up, let's go!
Finally, we are out of the door.
Strolling down our street at the same time the garbage man just happens to be rolling down. My ever so observant preschooler says, "Oh Mommy, it stinks. It really stinks. and it is hot. I just want to go home."
Me - "Jman, honey, you're fine. The stink will be gone in a second. We haven't even left our street yet."
So we keep walking, finally drifting away from the hot, disgusting sewer type stench. -ahhh, fresh air!! We're walking and I'm just soaking it in. I mean, really, truly, for one whole minute, soaking it in.
Then I hear, "Mommy, I'm hot".
Well son, we live in south Florida, I'm hot too. Man up.
We walk some more. I'm really trying to get in a good pace. You know, that muffin top is just creeping up on me. I get going and I'm actually having a great little conversation with my little man. Then of course I get reminded AGAIN that he's hot (seriously it isn't even that bad!) and he's thirsty. Okay, okay... So we stop in the shade for a drink. I squirt him with a bit of water thinking that'll keep him cool for a while. No, really it just pisses him off because I then hear, "MOMMY! You got me wet! That's not nice, you should say sorry!!". Okay, okay.. I'm sorry. Can we please keep moving?
Here we go again. Setting a nice pace. I"m actually very impressed with my son at this point. He reminds ME that we have to stay on the sidewalk and watch out for cars. He's telling me all about being safe and how you always have to be careful. Good job little dude, good job.
Then he wants to stop and pick me a flower. How sweet. The boy loves giving me flowers, and even if they are dried up, long been dead dandelions, I always accept them enthusiastically. Oh, he's just the sweetest thing, but I don't think the elderly lady who lives for her garden would appreciate a little kid picking her flowers. So I try to explain to him about being considerate of other people's property, and all that jazz. So, again..we keep going.
But now, he's starting to get slow. Telling me that I'm moving too fast. Oh, and he's hot. I manage to distract him from all his whining long enough to make it another three blocks or so. Man, this is way more work than I'm up for right now. He's whining some more so I stop. We have another drink. Thankfully the baby has stayed asleep through all of this!! My little squishy just loves taking long walks.
I look at my distance calculator and realize we've made it nearly a whole mile. So, I grant my little dude his wish. We turn around and start heading home. Now, for the millionth time he complains about being hot. So, I stop in this little Mexican food mart to relish in the amazingness that is central air conditioning. So, we cool off, get a snack and a drink (ps- 2.59 for a loaf of bread, really?!), and head out once again.
My son has no sense of urgency. I think I could walk faster with two broken legs. So, what do I do?
I bribe him. That's right, I said it. I snuck in a lollipop when I got all of our other goodies, and I showed it to him. "Want this?" - yes - "Okay, well walk faster!".
Worked like a charm.
We make our way home. Of course we took two more breaks, stopped in an empty field to pick some dead flowers, stopped to admire sidewalk construction, I answered questions about why there are cracks in the sidewalk, detoured around some broken glass and of course answered the dozen of questions he had about why glass breaks. Practiced some more safety rules, and make it home just in time for it to start pouring.
How relaxing.....
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