A plan, an out-of-shape mama, and the rescue

This summer Michael has been driving our car to work since his summer school location is too far for him to walk to. We went down to one car last year in order to save funds for our adoption. It's worked pretty well most of the time, a little inconvenient but not a big deal. So this summer he leaves for work at 7am and doesn't get home until close to 2pm. I am a stay at home mom by terminology only, my life doesn't prove that term to be true. I love leaving the house. I love playdates and parks and shopping with the kids anything to cause less mess and noise and cleaning at my house. So not having a car is a bigger deal to me than it should be. I've actually been handling it better than I thought I would.

All that to say that today when I was planning out the day, I thought hmmm....we just got a Burley (really cool bike trailer that easily converts to a great stroller) from Craigslist and Caleb just started riding a two wheeler, we can ride to the library-- a 1.73 mile trek. Before we left I warned Caleb that we might not be able to make it there since he just started riding a two wheeler and it was a long haul he might not be able to make it.

Getting everyone ready was an event in and of itself. Addie was in a foul mood and was crying about everything, I had to talk Nathan into leaving his bike home and riding in the Burley, and all the lovely neighbor children were mulling around watching our chaos and adding a little of their own.

We finally head out.... I was shocked at how hard it was to pull the bike trailer. I changed gears, which helped a little, but a block and a half later, my legs were burning, I was having a hard time breathing and I was begging Caleb to turn around. "You can do it Mommy. We're getting closer. You're doing good." All his encouragement helped a little (and made me feel like a fool) but not enough to get me all the way there. We were about a quarter of a mile away and I saw a bench and had to stop. Caleb, who was riding ahead of me, turned around parked his bike, sat down and said "Are your legs killing you?" I must have said that a time or two during that rough ride. After finishing my travel mug of coffee I was ready to go.

We made it. I promptly called Michael and told him we would needed his assistance to make it home. We had a fun time at the library, even though the children's librarian was cranky. Why do people who don't like kids choose that job? She didn't say anything to my kids but I saw her reprimand many children for minute offenses many times during our short stay.

Michael came, packed the Burley and two cute kids in the car. Caleb and I had a lovely ride home together. Fifty pounds less and a nicer route made all the difference.