Some Random Thoughts

I’ve noticed recently that the New York City sidewalks, like the roadways, have a crown or slant to them. Most sidewalks slope slightly downward to the street to shed rain water to the gutters. I noticed this the other day while pushing Evi in the stroller using only one hand. (The other hand was alternately opening doors, holding said doors open for the stroller, holding a coffee cup, or holding a cell phone to my yapping trap.) I soon noticed that my wrist was getting really tired because I was using the “upwalk” hand to steer and the torque was killing me. That is, I had to pull against the natural inclination of the stroller to angle into the street. By switching hands and using the “downwalk” hand to push against the stroller’s natural inclination to turn, I learned that there is definitely a fine art to the act of stroller pushing. In case the foregoing discussion is confusing, I’ve included a diagram which should hopefully make things clearer. (Click on it for the large size.) If my point remains unclear, you have no option but to go out, have a kid, find a friendly sidewalk, and then one-handedly push the kid around in a stroller for a while.

This led me to another thought, namely that many, many other parents have probably discovered other sundry things about their respective environments (and possibly life in general) after having children. Things that had been shrouded in mystery, or perhaps things not even considered or even remotely imagined. For example, I would have never thought that I might accidentally eat some of my daughter’s spit-up while playing airplane with her. Or that baby formula is one of the foulest tasting substances known to man (after regurgitated baby formula of course!). Or that no matter how fast you are at switching out a dirty diaper, your kid will manage to pee (or poop) on the changing pad (or you) during the brief inter-diaper span—NO MATTER HOW SHORT. (I’ve decided to bring this up with a friend of mine who used to work at NASA and knows all about quantum time-spans.) Or that upon returning from work, an entire crappy day can be completely erased by the sunbeam of your own kid’s smile.

Basically, every parent reinvents the wheel because no matter how many books you have read, shows on TLC you have watched, observations of friends who have become parents, or how much you are told about parenting by well-wishing moms/dads/grandpas/grandmas/aunts/uncles/cousins/friends/neighbors/strangers, it’s a COMPLETELY new thing. I have talked to many people who divide their lives into two periods: BC and AC (before- and after- children). I see now how true this is, and I marvel at just how much more I have to learn and how many more mysteries will be revealed before it’s all said and done. It’s pretty exciting, actually. Now I have to go figure out how to install safety tabs/locks/pads on just about everything in this apartment. After all, Evi will soon be crawling and anything not bolted to the wall or floor will go into her mouth.

P.S. Do I really need to tell you that you should go look at more pictures of our cute kid? Ok, ok: I will. CLICK HERE TO LOOK AT OUR CUTE KID!!