The playground we like to go to is about 1.5 miles from our house, but it is nice because it has two baby swings (about the only thing the girls can do at the playground these days) and it is located right on the intracoastal waterway, covered by big oaks draped in Spanish moss - beautiful.
The girls like to walk. They are usually very quiet and observant on their walks. Mommy likes the walks too. It's a good time to clear my head and enjoy the outdoors. This walk is especially nice because we go through a beautiful neighborhood and I daydream about living in one of the gorgeous house with wrap-around porches and marsh-views. There are usually other people strolling about - riding their bikes, walking their dogs or babies and are usually all very friendly. About two blocks from the park Abby starts fussing and I know from experience that this is not a short-lived fussing. She's getting tired and likes to be held at this point. Knowing we have only two blocks to go, I leave her in the stroller and pick up the pace. I know it will totally be worth it to her once she's swinging in the breeze.
50 feet from the park she's screaming at the top of her lungs, so I give into her demands and pull her out of the stroller. Not because she has me wrapped around her little finger, but because I don't want to disturb the folks who are enjoying their afternoon in the park (I try to convince myself).
We get to the swings and I put them both in and push - Whee!!! Issy loves it and squeals with delight. Abby is quiet, but clearly annoyed that I thought she may enjoy something so juvenile as swinging. We swing for a few minutes and I look around the park and notice it is usually quiet. I wonder where everyone is this beautiful afternoon. Then I look up at a dark sky - uh oh...
Back in the stroller the girls go and to my relief Abby stays quiet. I estimate that if I walk fast, I can make it home in 15 minutes. Two blocks away from the park, Abby (in true Abby-fashion)starts wailing again and then I feel the drops. I start jogging - the BOB performs perfectly - but my wet flip flops do not. I squeeze my big toes against my second toes as I jog so that the flops stay on. This is very uncomfortable and I'm sure it looks awkward. But I'm running in the rain with a crying baby, so I'm sure it fits the scene.
Meanwhile, Issy is just enjoying the ride. Thank God for Issy.
About half-way home, I reason that the rain isn't that bad (it was a medium-sprinkle) and take Abby from the stroller. She is instantly quiet and seems to enjoy the rain drops. Nice. Issy content in the stroller, Abby content on my hip, Mama content with the silence. Plus, the wet little baby hugging my arm feels nice.
I wave to some homeowners and joke about the "princess" who would rather get wet then sit in the stroller. They laugh, I laugh, good times. I notice an unusually large flying insect on the back of Abby's head and try to wave it away. It seems "stuck" so I get a little nervous and try to flick it off. It flies away but immediately comes right back - buzzing and mad. I start waving my hand around my girl and the little sh*t keeps trying to land on her. It finally happens upon my shoulder and OUCH! It bit me!
Well, now I get scared that it is going to bite Abby, so I start to walk faster. I hear the insect buzzing from ear to ear and I try to shoo it away. Well, I have one hand holding Abby and the other is flailing uncontrollably around me and my baby. I realize that I have let go off the stroller that is holding Issy and that it is now rolling away and heading straight for a ditch. (All of this is in plain view of the homeowners).
I run towards the stroller, grab it just in time, and keep running as fast as I can with a baby bouncing on my hip. The damn bug follows us. I am not a violent person by nature, but at that moment, if I would have had a mini shotgun, I would have shoved it down his tiny gullet and gleefully pulled the trigger.
I keep running with Abby in one hand while the other hand goes from pushing the stroller to waving around our heads like a mad woman, back to pushing the stroller. I bet looking at it from the outside, it was quite comical.
As I approach our home, the rain stops (ha ha). I walk in the house with two bites on my shoulder, one bite on my neck, one sleeping baby and one very wet baby. Luckily both babies escaped any bug bites.
It was quite an adventure (man, I need to get a life), but totally worth it, right?
Issy - "Totally worth it."
Abby - "Totally not worth it."
