living
AND ANOTHER THING…
A H H H H H H , PA R E N T I N G . One step forward, two steps back. Well,
truthfully, they are ALL steps forward on a technical basis – but they are really,
really tiny steps, because, you know, kids have tiny feet.
And that really is the basis of this issue’s column. Kids have really tiny feet.
Some of the biggest joys of parenting are, of course, all the firsts. We have our
first steps, first words, the first loose tooth, and the first time they figure out how to
find their favourite shows on Netflix without us needing to do it for them.
But as far as I’m concerned, the best parts (right now anyway) are what I like
to call the “No Mores.” As in: “No more overnight feedings! No more diapers! No
more Diaper Genie!” Ours went to a new dad I found on Kijiji who, I am sure, had
no idea what he was even buying.
The biggest one to date for me is “No More Stroller!” My wife and I are now
stroller-free parents! It’s a miracle! Don’t get me wrong. I don’t know how we would
have managed without a stroller. Not just in terms of taking the kids out for a
walk – trips to the mall or something like Whoop-Up Days would have been back-
breaking without a stroller. But, strollers can be quite cumbersome to get into any
vehicle, and they take up oodles of room, especially if you’re not even sure if you’ll
be using it once you arrive at your destination.
Now though? Now? Stroller free! Yes! Finally! Excepppppt now we just have to
carry the kids.
Our kids are five and four years old. And, just like yours, they LOVE going to
the park! The “Train Park” at Nicholas Sheran is their absolute favourite, and we
just happen to live within walking distance. I should clarify: it is walking distance
for me and my wife because we have grown up legs and feet. Our kids...do not.
They have little child legs and little child feet, and they are ALWAYS TIRED.
I’m not unsympathetic. I understand how muscles work and how they need to
be manipulated in order to grow and become effective appendages. But we can’t get
to the end of the driveway, in a lot of cases, without hearing the inevitable “My legs
hurt. I can’t walk any more. Can you pick me up?”
It’s not just on long adventures to, say the park, or a walk in the coulees. It’s
even to school, which is a four-minute walk away. FOUR MINUTES. And most
of the time I’m still being asked to drive them in the van. I don’t by the way. (Well,
I do when it’s raining, ‘cuz Daddy don’t do weather.)
Even when they are being cooperative on our strolls, we are now on THEIR
pace. Shouts of, “Let’s go! Keep it moving! This way, guys!” are heard quite
frequently now. We’ve gone from stroller parents getting ACTUAL exercise to
motivational personal trainers, except they don’t pay us.
I know that this too shall pass, and along with it, having the constant debate
of whether to spend a little extra on a better pair of kids’ shoes or just go with the
cheap ones they are going to destroy and outgrow.
I also know I shouldn’t rush ANY of this because there is going to come a day
when they’ll be pushing me around in some contraption while taking ME out for
a stroll. By then though, I’m really hoping science will have perfected some sort of
hover chair.
Jay Herrington can be heard weekday mornings from 5:30–10 a.m.
on Lethbridge’s Home for Modern Hit Music, 98.1 The Bridge.
42 LETHBRIDGELIVING.COM
JUL-AUG 2017
J AY H E R R I N G T O N
P H O T O G R A P H Y : J E N A L S T O N , M PA ;
IMAJEN PHOTOGRAPHY
@jayherrington75