Such is the state of mind this morning as I will myself to be a calmer, happier person. I planned an entire afternoon off where I would run a few errands and then take E-man to an indoor playground where he would slide, roll, bounce and play in the company of other friendly kids, making the 3 boroughs and 4 train rides we would maneuver to get there totally worth it.
I awake to yet another snow storm which weather.com has eerily predicted as a "Wintry Mix" and think, "Why again did I pick today of all days to gallivant this city with my two-year-old?"
Only a couple hours later, question still unanswered, but lunch, toys, change of clothes for E-man and jogging stroller weather shield in place, we make it out the door and are greeted by the quiet, glistening white of a February snowstorm that has scared all but the gallant indoors.
On such days, it is almost possible to feel like a VIP. The sidewalks are empty enough that one does not have to make the choice of walking over mountains of garbage on one side or frozen dog excrement on the other in order to squeeze past a slower pedestrian. There are few enough cars on the road that brown slush is not sprayed into your face as you cross the street. Even the subway elevators are empty.
That last thing was a big hint that it may have been best to stay indoors.
First on our list is visiting the doctor's office to pick up E-man's records, thus skipping weeks of bureaucratical waiting for records to be mailed from one doctor to the next. E-man survives these three train rides with snacks, books, his jogging stroller version of peekaboo and my assurances that after this we are going somewhere really fun!
We get off the train, and forgetting my zen state of earlier, I automatically resume a maniacal forward momentum right into a lake of freezing brown slush. (An extra outfit for myself would come in handy right about now.) But I figure, "Ah, it won't kill me," and keep on going. Such is my positive state of mind.
Two hours, an annoying but ultimately successful conversation with a receptionist, a slightly grumpier child, a couple train rides and a few more walks through slush later, we arrive at the indoor playground that is to be our haven for the day, the one that I called ahead of time to make sure was open, and we are greeted by a lady who I think is opening the door for us. But no, she is there to tell us that the place is closed 'till 4 (it is 3 now).
Only an hour you say? Ah yes, but only an hour to a grumpy toddler and his mother who has waded through hours and lakes of Antarctic temperatures the color of I don't think I want to know what I just stepped in to get there.
Then we have a look at the place. It is a small room with some toys on the floor...not quite the indoor playground I had anticipated. Still E-man is banging on the door, trying to open it. He obviously sees something in there he is excited about.
So we wait the hour.
E-man is pretty nice while we wait. Other kids show up to wait. He is hugging them very gently. It is nice to know that when I explained to him that it's very sweet of him to hug somebody but he has to be gentle about it so he doesn't scare them off, he actually understood this.
Finally the door opens.
But by then E-man is so tired that words like, "Share" fall on deaf ears and I end up putting back on my wet sneakers and carrying a kicking screaming kid out of there, only to shove my way through two hours of rush hour trains full of people who have been heaped with all kind of unfairness having to go to work on a day like today.
So much for positive thinking.
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