Today I found myself at 11:15 leaving my daughter's school (where I do volunteer work every Monday) and on my way to pick up Nels when: problem? I forgot bus fare. Luckily it was only very, very, freezing-nuts-off cold as opposed to the torrential rain that descended at 2:45 that day when - again, on foot - I needed to go pick up my daughter. At 11:15, realizing my error, I tied my hat earflaps down and walked super-fast to my parents' house to ask for their van or 50 cents and the use of the phone. As I walked I thought about what it is like for families who really DON'T have a car or people who RELY on public transportation regularly. There is simply no room for, "Oh whoops, I forgot such-and-such," or "Oops, running a little late!" when you're catching a bus in order to get somewhere.

As of two yesterday our van battery is dead. Luckily nothing phases me when it comes to getting around; it's a good life skill if you ask me. Today at 3:22 as I pulled the kids along to our bus stop (uncovered and right by a crosswalk; people slow down and glare at me, waiting for me to cross. I point and point to the sign we're next to but no one registers it is indeed a bus stop. It's weird.) my children asked me why we have to walk so fast in the pouring rain. I said, "OK. Let me tell you a story about what's happening. When our car breaks down, we don't have money to fix it right away. So we take the bus. You know some people don't have cars at all. Some people have money to fix their cars right away," and a bunch of other things. It was a good conversation. They really listened as we slogged through the wet. My three year old son valiantly hiked his coat up and kept a jog for four blocks. Yes, we made the bus. They are pros at it. Nels rang the bell when we got to the Y.

Despite being on foot, on bus, and bumming the use of my parents' van once I still managed to arrange school for the kids, take homebaked cookies to Suse's school, deliver a hat to a friend, and get the kids to the Y for my workout (very sluggish today) and the kids' first night of Short Sports (tonight's workshop: basketball skills). Arriving home at 7:30 and my body doesn't yet know it's time to rest (in fact, the dirty dishes and piles of laundry encourage my body to keep going). But it really is time to rest. And give the family the SNUGGLING OF THEIR LIFE! Does that sound threatening? Because it's meant to.

Labels: bus, Nels, on foot, rain, YMCA