Too lazy to drive???

...Me. That's who.

Last night, I was actually going to bail on a yoga class because I didn't feel like driving.
From my place to the yoga place is a t-e-n minute drive within town. And there's easy parking.

So, what the heck is the problem?

Driving is not mindless Me Time.
For me, driving at night requires too much concentration on the curvaceous dimly lit roads.
I would much rather walk. Or even walk to take the subway to get where I needed to go.

However...
We no longer live in a bustling urban area, populated with pedestrians.

A thirty minute walk on a wintry night in this burb is an eerily lonesome trek.
Hardly another soul on foot.
Cars and more cars whizzing along the roadway.
A thousand wattage of headlights beaming towards me.

Nope. Not the ideal setting for a mindless Me Time stroll.
Key in the ignition is the way to go. For now.

At least until the summer months.

People people everywhere!!!

...shouted M happily and incredulously as we entered the busy playground at 84th St and Fifth Ave.

The sun was shining brilliantly.
It was one of the many wacky warm gorgeous November days we've had so far.
Kids were zipping about while parents, grandparents, and nannies chit chatted on the sidelines.
Cold weather jackets were piled up on benches.
Everyone was totally invigorated, soaking up vitamin D.

We railroaded into the Big Apple for the day.
Met up with our Brooklyn pals for some playground fun in Central Park and art history culture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

M and his buddy S take a free "start with art" class for kids at the Met.
Trekking through the Greek and Roman galleries, the boys learned about carving sculptures from marble using a hammer and chisel. How to distinguish Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian columns.
Read a story about Romulus and Remus. Made a collage.
Enjoyable stuff for the kids.
Interesting for the adults.
After class, the boys really wanted to visit the magnificent Temple of Dendur. No problem.
Nothing more charming than seeing 4 year olds get super excited about checking out an ancient monument.

People people everywhere indeed!  Throughout every step of our journey. On the railroad, on the subway, on the crosstown bus, at the playground, in the museum, on the street.

M and I don't get this much face time with crowds of people anymore.
It just doesn't happen in the burbs.

It's cooler by the shore...

but still somewhat warm enough this past week to have playdates at the beach park.

We've had a three day run of gorgeous indian summer days - a welcome relief from the wintry cold spell of the past two weeks.

To maximize outside play time after school, we drive to the beach park these days. Even though it's a short distance from home.
Me walking & M biking means it's a 25 minute trek home.  Easily accomplished during daylight savings time.
Al fresco playdates during standard time pretty much ends at 4.45pm before darkness falls.

So begins the countdown til March 11, 2012 when we spring forward to daylight savings time.

Where to go to kill some time...

if it's too cold to sit outside?

I have sixty minutes of Me time while M is in a nature science class on Fridays.
On the warmer days, I would hang out on the lawn and bask in the sun to catch up on some reading.
Maybe squeeze in a few minutes of shut eye.

On a chilly windy October afternoon, sitting outside proved to be quite a challenge.
I thought I was dressed appropriately. Isn't October sweater weather after all???

No indoor waiting area for parents so instead of wasting twenty minutes driving to and from Starbucks...
I ended up sitting in my car. Reading. With the windows half way down of course.

Didn't think I would ever resort to hanging out in the car to pass the time away -

Cross it off my "Things I Can't Picture Myself Doing" list, which seems to be getting shorter and shorter.

Going a bit greener...

by leasing a smaller and more fuel efficient car.

Driving the Civic is actually quite fun - it's a zippy little vehicle.
Though I can't help but feel dwarfed by the mega rides out there.

It's the burbs after all ~ most everything is jumbo sized except the sidewalks.

Where is everybody...

on this gorgeous sunny day? The playground is practically empty!
I didn't get it together to make a playdate.
So once again, it's me and M.

Such is the way of the burbs it seems. Nearly deserted well equipped playgrounds.
Maybe a handful of people - this low number includes kids and parents/caregivers.

Even if we did have a jungle gym and swing set in our yard,
I would still need to get the f*&*k out of the house for a change of scenery.
M feels the same way. He's all for going to a playground for a few hours.
With or without pals.

Unlike me, he's not jonesing for same sized playmates...he's happy to do his own thing.
Ride his bike. Climb a jungle gym or two. Run around in circles.
Lucky me. A totally self-sufficient kid.

On days that I don't have some adult company, I've taken to doing New York magazine's crossword puzzle.
Easy to keep an eye on junior while thinking of the four letter word for "velvety greenery".

Speaking of greenery...
I figure we may as well enjoy this fall weather as much as possible.
Winter will come forth soon enough.
Then we will undoubtedly be the only ones out there in the very deserted playground.

Our commute to school...

is an eight minute walk.
Out the door, take a right and the school is three blocks away. A straight line down the street.
It doesn't come any easier.
I get to maximize the two and a half hours of ME time without having to deal with morning traffic or sitting in the "car line" at school.

The car line...truly astonishing when I first witnessed the routine last year...
(we had been in the burbs for about 5 days when nursery school started).

Rewind to September 2010...

Option A: The car line.
Drive to school. Get in the car line and wait til 9am when the doors open.
Stay in the car.
No one is allowed to leave their cars to socialize.
Teachers then come out to the car line to take kids into the school.
Driver stays in the car.
No assistance is necessary.
Then drive off.
Fantastic - there goes any hope of grownup interaction.

Same procedure with the pickup.

Get on the car line.  While waiting, catch up on phone calls, texts and emails.
Seems that the school's rule of "no one is to leave their cars to socialize"
extends to keeping the car windows rolled up.
I might get a wave - through the rolled up window.
At the appointed time, a teacher comes out with child.
Escorts the mini person into the correct car, identified by child's name on index card
in passenger window.
However, teachers are not allowed to buckle your kid into the carseat.
Kid is put into the car.
Drive down the block, pull over and strap junior into carseat. Then drive off.

Option B: Park car on a side street and stand in front of the school for dropoff and/or pickup.

No takers for Option B during the first week of school...oh man.
My grand vision of meeting other parents wasn't looking so rosy.

There we were.  M and I standing all by our lonesomes with a whole line of cars parked besides us. Windows rolled up, ensconced in their individual autosphere.
Wait! What happened to my scenario of getting friendly with a few moms and going for coffee somewhere to kill some time - like I did in the old 'hood.
Here it seems like everyone is either rushing to a 9.30 spin class or running errands
or going home so the younger tot can nap before pickup time.
Fair enough.

Week two.
There was L, waiting out front with her son F, who was in the same class as M.
She opted for Option B since the car line drill wasn't working so well with her little guy.
As it turns out, she is a fellow big apple urbanite who moved to the hood a month before we did.
We quickly bonded over our new suburban "lifestyle", getting acclimated to driving again
after an eight year hiatus, and having very similar interests.
The coming months were looking promising again...I finally met someone.
Someone who has since become a very good friend.

Fast forward to February 2010...
By now, M and I have become a very familiar sight to the parents/caregivers who drive.
As we're trudging through rain or snow or both, we've been offered rides to school.
We always decline since the distance is so sinfully short.
Even better than a ride, we are offered a warm and dry refuge in someone's car if we get to school early - to which we quickly say "yes please and thank you".

Fast forward further to September 2011...
Though I am driving now, M and I will be sticking with Option B - even during inclement weather.
It's way more fun jumping into a pal's car for a quick dose of adult conversation to start the day.

Lights out...

for six whole days.  Irene's wrath hit our power lines hard.

We had to empty our fridge. Park our frozen goods and array of condiments at the J's icebox up the hill.
Hit Home Goods for some candles.  So powerfully scented that they made my eyes water...but it's all that was left.
Powered up the flashlights with fresh batteries.
B dusted off his headlamp and hand crank transistor radio/flashlight combo.

Our days...
B went to work.
J went to the library.
M and I ventured to wherever I could charge my cellphone...library, playground, poolside, even to Burger King one morning for a playdate.

Our evenings...
a few book lights clipped to the lamp stands for some ambient LED lighting.
M jumping up and down to power up his shake flashlight.
B cranked away on the transistor radio...whilst wearing the headlamp with the almighty glare.
Sat around with J and B for some quality conversation time, after M went to bed.
The three of us crowded around B's laptop watching The Coen Brothers True Grit.
With the help of a booklight, J read The Help on her "vintage" no backlight Nook.
I read Rob Lowe's memoir Stories I Only Tell My Friends in three nights.  Then onto Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw. 

On the bright side of things...we did have hot water and use of the stove, which are gas powered.

So we were able to toast some bread on a skillet for breakfast.
Stocked up on mini sized rice milks to have with cereal.
About three days of PB and Js for lunch. Alternating with some takeout; pizza, grilled cheeses, bagels...to keep it interesting.
Other than one night out for Japanese, we cooked most of our dinners...on the stove or the grill (it's the burbs after all).
Small simple meals.  Doing food shopping an hour before dinner, buying only the ingredients that we needed.

No fridge meant no leftovers.

All in all, not a total disaster for us.
More of an inconvenience...a step up from camping (like I would really know).

The outsized, supersized, and oversized...

supermarket shopping experience.

It all starts in the parking lot.
Rows upon rows of parking spots. W-i-d-e parking spaces. Both of which I can fully appreciate.
Especially the wide parking spaces...I am still getting the hang of turning into a space at a ninety degree angle. And ending up centered. Which isn't always the case.
There's still some reversing back and forth that goes on until the job gets done.
M has started to ask, "Are we good?" before unbuckling himself from the car seat harness.
When I get it right in two tries, he commends my efforts with a congratulatory "You did so good Mom!"

Then there are the shopping carts. A variety of shopping carts.
The standard cart. Or there are the kid friendly carts with the cars attached to the front. Or the carts with the two seaters. Fun for M to hang out in but impossible for an adult to push.
We've had some close calls with a Pepperidge Farm cookies display and a fellow shopper while trying to make a turn. No. Can. Do.
Just think. I never used a cart when food shopping in the city.
Why bother when the carts barely fit in the narrow aisles. Nevermind about moving forward if there is another shopper with a cart coming in the opposite direction.
Old habits die hard.
My first month as a suburbanite, I would walk into the store and just start shopping. Either with a hand basket or just throwing stuff into the stroller basket.
This occurred early on when I wasn't driving yet and walking to and from the supermarket.
The stroller handles would be loaded down with bags. Of course the basket beneath the stroller would be stuffed to the max too.
An uncommon sight in this town.

I digress. Let's rewind to actually being in the SUPERmarket.
Feeling like Alice in Wonderland amidst the wide aisles and towering shelves.
Fully stocked. Neatly stocked.
Gleaming colors. Dazzling array of goods.
Very well merchandised.

I have since learned to go food shopping with a list. And checking it twice.
A vain attempt to avoid overspending...and to save myself a hike back and forth from one end of the store to the other.
Forget the onions whilst perusing the dairy section?
This oversight means a long haul from aisle #11 back to aisle #1. Passing displays that I missed the first time that can easily trigger an(other) impulse buy.
After a couple of trips like this in one outing, I eventually make it to the checkout line. Or the self-checkout line. Again with the choices.

The best part...
carting the goods back to the car. This newbie tends to park a yonder from the more congested parts of the lot.
Because I can.

The town pool...

has more or less become our daily sanctuary from this blistering heat and humidity.

We usually go for a refreshing dip in the afternoon to reset our thermostats.
M sheds his cranky pants for swim shorts and all is well again.

To get to the pool is a 10-15 minute walk or a 5 minute drive from where we live. Can we say YIPPEE.

Last week, my friend R and her daughter S, journeyed out from the city to hang with us for the day. Told her to pack swimsuits just in case we decided to chill out poolside.
Midway through her train ride, I get a frantic text from R asking if I had an extra combination lock and if I didn't, would it be possible to share a locker. Or can she buy a lock somewhere?????
OH RIGHT...rules of the city pool.

City pool regulations were the rules I was expecting to follow at the town pool:

Combination lock... Check.
Tiniest tote bag that could be stuffed (along with clothes and shoes) into a 12x12 locker...Check.
No electronic devices on pool deck. Leave the Nook at home and cell phone in the locker...Check.
No newspapers. Forget the NY Post. Bring Us Weekly...Check.
Leave the cute swimsuit coverup stuffed in the locker...Check
Only towels & bound reading material allowed on the pool deck...Check.
Shower before entering pool...Check.

I texted back: Relaxed rules in da burbs. Allowed to leave all of ur crap on the pool deck :)
Can bring food & have lunch in concession area. C U in a few.

Our fellow pedestrians...

jaywalk wherever and whenever.

Traffic comes to a complete halt in both directions. Drivers wait. And wait.
No amount of honking or herding will quicken their pace.
Slow is their way to go.

Summertime playdates...

with our pals have morphed into late afternoon/ early evening get togethers at someone's house-n-yard.

L started the awesome "feed the kids dinner" trend last week and it was a huge success!
The shrimps get to burn off steam and cool their heels in kiddie pools, whirly sprinklers, AND slip n slides. At around 5.30, it's time to chow down!
Everyone is much happier hanging out and dining with their peers.
This is definitely a welcome change to the oh so fun dinnertime routine at our house.

This week, C invited a bunch of us over for a pizza dinner playdate.
When M and I arrived, we were greeted with another dazzling array of entertainment centers that had been set up in the backyard.
I could tell that M's head was again spinning over the choices of a bounce house, sand table, water table, kiddie pool one or kiddie pool two, play kitchen, barbie dolls...where to go, what to do first??!?!!?!

After a simple pizza dinner, then it was onto the next set of tough decisions...
choosing the ultimate dessert to satisfy his sweet tooth.
Will it be a cherry or lemon popsicle or will it be a mini carvel flying saucer with chocolate ice cream and chocolate cookie saucers or will it be the vanilla ice cream one with oreo cookie saucers?!?!?!?!?
oh hang on...there's also one with chocolate cookie saucers with chocolate ice cream covered with rainbow sprinkles???

The dog days of August will be less grueling now with more outdoor dinner playdates on the horizon.

I go? You go? She goes? He goes?...

at a four way STOP when we all kind of get there at once?

The person on the right - is what I remember from drivers ed.
Except that for a few long seconds, we are making eye contact and gesturing before going forward.
As civilized as the exchanges may (or may not be)...
Give me a traffic light anytime ~
I will gladly wait a few seconds for a green light that means I GO.

I love the lush leafy trees in this town.  I don't love the STOP signs that are hidden beneath the verdure during the flowering seasons.  Can we say traffic hazard!
Again, give me a traffic light, (usually) visible during all seasons ~
I will gladly wait a few seconds for a red light that means I STOP.

To emerge, mate, then rest in peace...

such is the cycle of the annual or "dog days" chatty cicadas.
Well, only the males are chatterboxes. Females remain silent.  Imagine that?!

M spotted this dead cicada lying on the road...truly an exquisite looking insect.

I say a lifeless cicada is a way better sighting than coming across a feathery furry sad mess of roadkill.

Beware of drivers...

taking a right on red.

95% of the time, they are just concerned with watching oncoming cars coming from their left...and take the turn while keeping their heads turned to the left.
Completely oblivious to the possibility that there may be a pedestrian on their right.
95% of the time, even when they do see me getting ready to step off the curb with kid in stroller, they take the turn anyways.
Surly words just projectile right out of my mouth when this happens.

After one of my tirades, I happen to glance at one of the cars waiting to take a left turn into the mall...the driver is sort of grinning more smirking and shaking her head.
Oh crap.
M's preschool director just witnessed one of my public $#F@U!^$# meltdowns.

Sidewalks are not a given...

Whether I am out running, biking with M, or just taking a stroll, it makes me a bit uneasy to share the road with moving vehicles.  Is it better to face oncoming traffic or have my back toward oncoming traffic? My instincts say to face toward, then I see all the other runners / power walkers doing the business facing away from oncoming traffic.
No matter. Whichever way I am orientated, I am practically hugging the curb and yammering at M to stick closer to me.

Most drivers are considerate enough to drive away from us when they see us in the road.
Key phrase being...when they see us.
My biggest pet peeve are sporty cars with souped up engines zooooming around the corners with wheels a screechin!
M always yells and shakes his mini fists after them, "Slow down hot dog wheels!".

Guess he can't escape his urban roots either.

Are we walking....

to the grocery store (ahem, I mean supermarkets), to the playground, to the library, to playdates, to wherever.

It is very convenient that I live within walking distance to two- count them TWO- well stocked malls. King Kullen, Super Stop-n-Shop, Home Goods, Children's Place, a USPS within an Ace Hardware, excellent pizzerias, etc...
so we could and do walk to all of the aforementioned places in 10-20 mins (maybe 30 mins to the library and the shady playground with sprinklers)...it's just that everything is so much more spread out and feels much farther. Fair enough, this is why most folks move to the burbs - for the extra space, right?

Fortunate to live right by a picturesque bay so walking to points along Main St is actually pleasant and doubles as a nature class.
M gets a kick out of running onto the town dock, checking out the boats, geese, goslings, swans, and determining if it's high mid or low tide.

The downside is that the sidewalks are really quite narrow and traffic is zooming by about a foot away from us.  It's a bit too close for my comfort level. If there are any other pedestrians or bikers on the sidewalk at the same time, then someone has to yield by stepping aside.
When M wants to bike to wherever we are going, then I become a nagging nelly. He's on his bike with training wheels, pedaling along at a quick clip and I am constantly reminding him he must go 15mph since he's on the sidewalk and can't go 30mph (he thinks he can just because he reads the speed limit signs).
He's still going along at his speedy speed and I realize that he can't hear me! He's got on his helmet and all of my words are actually being drowned out by the whizzing traffic.
As it turns out, we can't hear each other even when he is walking with me or is being pushed in his stroller.
I just hear him yelling "Right mama?", "Okay mama?"...I don't answer affirmatively since I am not sure what I might be okaying.

I am proud to say that we've hoofed it during the fall, winter, spring, all of June, and some of July.
However, I put dibs on the car during this heatwave.

Heat index near 110F. I put dibs on the car...

dropping B off at work so I can drive to pick M up from camp then onto his swim lesson at the pool.

When it's so hot that "everything looks like a Salvador Dali painting", it's too bothersome to be a pedestrian in the burbs.  Traffic lights are not programmed for folks who need to get from one side of the street to the other. It's a long wait for that "walk" icon to appear. Delayed green lights dominate. I've learned that jaywalking is not a good idea. And so it goes...

It's been 324 days...

of living in the burbs.  Weathered through a tough winter, seven days of spring, and a very warm June which bring us to the middle of July.

The summer is turning out to be kinda fun in these here parts.

Joined the newly renovated town pool - an awesome oasis from the heat and humidity.

Getting invited to bbq's...we've met some swell moms & dads from M's class who are a fun hang.

The biggest growth spurt is that I am getting more comfortable behind the wheel (haven't done highways yet).  Driving really does makes getting around easier and somewhat more efficient, especially grocery shopping (stay tuned for future postings on the gigantic supermarkets).
Don't get me wrong, we still do plenty of walking. Just because we can and it's a way of fitting some cardio into my day.

We will be poolside for the next two days to beat the heat....