Taking a Walk A.K.A an Excercise of Patience

Wagon Baby (Photo credit: Jason DeRusha)

The babies are napping again.  It was one of the hardest mornings we have had this spring because we decided to take a walk.

First we had the chaos of applying sunscreen, grabbing hats, putting on shoes.  This would have been an organized activity if the four-year old wasn’t trying to coax the almost two-year old into climbing on the living room table and jumping off while I juggled the three-month old in one hand and the sweater of the three-year old in the other.

Then we had bartering for bikes, trikes, positions in the wagon, and the jealousy that is bound to happen when the two-year old realizes this year his spot is in the wagon, not in the stroller he has come to think of as his, that now belongs to the baby.

We have not even made it out of the garage yet, and I am starting to wonder if the benefits of exercising my body outweighs the risks of exercising my patience. 

But off we go.  And after about ten feet of sidewalk we come to a screeching halt (literally screeching) as the three-year old rams her trike into the four-year olds bike.  At this moment I am rescued by, of all things, an ant.  This poor creature has decided to tread in the path of our family parade, and as the four-year old howls, the three year old shouts “buggy!” and all becomes instantly silent as we watch this miracle of mother nature wind his way towards the end of the concrete.

And off we go.  This time we get about a block and we are assaulted by a hummingbird.  You would think our neighborhood has become a war zone, and the buzzing of wings is the sound of an impending attack.  I instantly have trike one way, bike another, two-year old climbing out if the wagon scrambling for cover and my thought is… oh boy, his mom handled the sand-burned nose, but how will she handle the broken arm?  And I think “Note to self, this is not the year to build a bird feeder“.

Moving on from the hummingbird drone, we adventure another fifty yards and cross a bridge over a dry creek bed.  We stop for a few moments to collect some rocks that catch the eyes of the kids.  I suggest trying to find some good ones that we can turn into Pet Rocks this afternoon. After we have a wagon full of options, I exercise my will over the will of three toddlers, and manage to round them up like I am a professional rodeo roper. 

This feels like a good place to turn around, so a whopping two blocks from our home we start back. But exercising as a grandparent staves off so many ill effects of aging, it is as good for me as it is important to teach the little ones to play every day so they do not fall victim to inactivity. 

I vow that tomorrow’s field trip will involve more exercising of bodies and less exercising of patience as we park a bike, a trike, a wagon, and a stroller in the garage and lay out our new rock collection for our craft this afternoon. 

Making Pet Rocks:

Materials:

Rocks (of any size, shape, or color you find interesting)

Paint and brushes (or just let them use their fingers)

Paper, markers, glitter

Glue

1. Clean the rock surface

2. Create a face for your pet (If you want, you can make them people, animals, or aliens).

 

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