Walking along at a kid's pace

On the first afternoon I was in California, my sister was exhausted from a bad night with the baby and wanted to take a nap. But like any good seven month old, he knew that mommy was tired and therefore decided that he wasn't.

So, I suggested that I take him out for an hour or so walk around the neighbourhood while she caught a couple of zzzzs.

She protested at first, saying I didn't fly all this way just to walk with the baby. I ignored her protests, sent her off to bed, popped my nephew in his stroller and wandered off. For the next hour and a half, I strolled through the streets, looking around and listening to my ipod. My nephew, for his part, caved rather quickly and fell asleep. Total miles covered -- between 2 and 3.

Let's compare this rather blissful walk (where, may I add, I walked at a nice brisk pace) with a single sleeping baby in a stroller to the walk I took the other day with my kids.

There is major road construction going on down the street from our house. Traffic is being diverted and roads are being ripped up. It's a major headache if you're the driver. But to my kids -- the sudden appearance of construction trucks so close to the house is heavenly.

So, the other day, we wandered out without a stroller or wagon to take a look. Over the next 45 minutes or so, we walked a block and a half in one direction and then turned around and walked back. This pace was not so much because we stood around and looked at the trucks but more because dandelions had to picked, grassy hills had to be rolled down, cracks had to be avoided being stepped on, rocks had to be pocketed and everything around us had to be questioned. Total distance covered -- maybe 400 ft.

Now, don't get me wrong, I remember all too well what the baby days were like and how difficult they can be. Especially when you're exhausted and the baby doesn't want to nap anywhere but the stroller -- therefore after the walk, he's refreshed and ready to go while you're just more tired than you were before. But considering I'm not in that place anymore, in response to my sister's protest two weeks ago, I say: taking a walk with a sleeping baby is a vacation.