As much as I've always enjoyed taking the boys on our stroller walks through the neighborhood, it's gotten much more difficult lately. The triple stroller is just too much to push, and even if I was willing, the boys are getting too big for it and constantly kick the back of each other's seats and torment each other.
So we take the double stroller, where the two little guys usually get along, and Connor usually walks (or should I say "pokes"). He was always ready to walk when we used the triple stroller, but now that there are only two seats, he inevitably wants one ("Shew, I tired!"). I guess I envisioned getting to enjoy our long stroller walks while Connor was at school, but that hasn't really worked out either. Therapy is usually scheduled in those few hours, to take advantage of Connor's absence and to allow more time to actually be devoted to therapy instead of including (and/or disciplining) Connor. He thinks the therapists are there to play with him, of course.
I miss our walks, and I imagine my little guys do, too. It's a rare chance to get outside of our house and look around, to enjoy the fresh air and not be talked to or asked to do things they don't want to do (like talk or sign). They've always been happy little passengers, riding quietly and always content to sit there for hours at a time (or as long as Mommy is willing to push, anyway). And I love the fresh air, the exercise, and the peace and quiet. Not so much of the last two if Connor is along, because we're usually going at a snail's pace instead of my quick step and he can't for the life of him stop talking (it's apparently more important than breathing to him). Funny, how we so wish the two little guys would talk just a little and at times we so wish the oldest one would just be quiet every once in a while. Another one of life's great contradictions.
But, today, with Connor away on one of his many adventures, the little guys and I got to get back into an old familiar routine. We got up, had breakfast and headed out in the stroller. We took the long walk, probably about four miles all together. It was a nice, cool morning with a good breeze and a quick pace (Mommy's favorite). We stopped and played a bit in our favorite field (though not long, because they just didn't seem that into it today). We found cattails for the boys to hold (and torment each other with), and we watched a big group of birds fly away as we got too close. On the way back, we stopped and watched some ducks on the little pond near the sidewalk, and then made our winding way back home.
Just another day in the life . . .