Wake up. Change Diaper. Feed my toddler and shove some toast in my mouth. Pack snack and toy bag. Get in the van. Oh no, forgot the wallet. Run back in, get wallet, back to the van. Drive to the Honda dealership during morning rush hour traffic. Man how quickly I have forgotten about the pitfalls of driving at 7:45am. Arrive. Unload stroller and pack a half days worth of snacks, toys and diapering essentials into it. Drop off keys at service desk and we are off. Not before the nice gentleman behind the counter points out that he has watched me for “like an hour” unload my van. Gee thanks bud, I know my life is chaotic, but happy to have a cheerful reminder at this hour.
With somewhat of a smile on my face and a deep breath, we began to make the best of an otherwise inconvenient day.
A trip to the playground this early yielded a wet butt (not mine) and a lack of friends to play with. Well crap. This was my plan. THE plan. Three hours to fill and no one to fill it with. My son was not so thrilled with the wet slide and the silence. So we began to walk. First together, both pushing the stroller. Then just him pushing the stroller. Then finally me pushing him in the stroller. (This seems to be the stroller struggle of my life lately).
My mind easily slipped into begrudging and blaming the city. Every car that whipped by and every siren in the distance proved to be one step further from his much needed stroller nap. Every stop at a crosswalk, waiting for the little man to light up, gave enough time for one more sweat bead to drip down my back. Yes. Sweat. In early April. At 8:30 am. Welcome to Florida.
Until, I looked right.
A random open gate to my right with a sign indicating it was a park’s walking path. What? We are literally on a busy city side street. There are no grassy parks around here with picturesque walking paths. The only parks around here are playgrounds closed in by chain link fences. Well let’s just try this. Thank goodness for the BOB stroller. So off roading we went, a little timid but determined to get my son to sleep. Over stumps and broken down bridges, each step getting a little more glorious than the last… and then we arrived. This relatively unmarked path opened up to a beautiful oasis.
And for a brief moment in time, I wasn’t in the city anymore. I was in a nature lovers reprieve. Leo and I spent the next three hours sleeping (him not me), and walking, and exploring. Enjoying the sights and smells of God’s creation versus mans.
For the first time in a very long time, I wasn’t afraid that my son would grow up a “city boy”. I was reminded that I could instill in him a love for flowers and birds and ponds and frogs and dirt no matter where we live. I realized that it’s up to me to show him these things because the world around us wants to hide them, to hide God and all of his creation. But God is here, always waiting for us to open our eyes and sometimes…to look right.
Blooming And Becoming 