slowing down.

So, I’m not really a fan of public transportation. I do it when it’s necessary, but otherwise I avoid that mess like the plague, especially when I’ve got the babies in tow.

It’s not really the idea of public transit that gets me. It’s the hassle of carrying two babies all over the city. It’s not like the states where there are buses, big spacious, air conditioned buses. Instead, we’ve got little hoopty cars driving around like clown cars. How many payasos can we get in the car today?

Even the full-to-the-brim experience isn’t that bad. But have you ever walked with a two year old? It’s the slowest walking on earth. I mean, I understand that their legs are shorter and generally they’re just slower. But it’s not that.

Samil stops to look at everything. Oh, mami, look! A rock! A leaf! A piece of dog poop.

So, we take the bus, I mean, car to the city. And spend twenty minutes walking the two blocks to the store, twenty minutes in the store and twenty minutes back to the bus stop. An hour! One whole hour to buy a piece of chewing gum! Yes, please!

on days when you’re in a hurry, it’s the last thing you want. To notice all those small, tiny things that fascinate them. The kids. But maybe it’s on those days that we can learn the most from those tiny little hands pointing out tiny little things.

A day like we had today – the rush to get everything done, to hurry through the actions, to forget about those around us, the beautiful world we live in – needs little people most. If it wasn’t for Samil’s dawdling walk, stopping to look at everything, forcing me to slow down, I would have missed out on the butterfly he delighted in, the conversation he had with an elderly woman, the joy he took in showing his sister everything in the shopping cart.

It took us longer to get things done. A trip that should’ve lasted an hour, took two and a half, but I wouldn’t trade it. The to-do list is still half-full, but it’ll get done. Not today, maybe, but there are more important things than that today.