Morning Excursion

This morning, feeling somewhat ambitious and very much like another jaunt to Hippo Playground was unbearable, I decided it was high time Stella experienced the Central Park Carousel. By 9:30am I had all her snacks together, a glass of water with half an orange squeezed into it (making it passable for juice, as requested), diapers and wipes, a few hidden pacifiers just in case. All supplies were at the ready in the too-small green bag that we use for our sojourns with the little girl. We set out for Central Park with Stella insisting that she wanted to walk. After a couple blocks, she agreed to ride in the stroller until we got to the park. Then it was back to walking alternating with me carrying her until my arms were shaking and my back screamed with pain. Then back to walking. We saw ducks and turtles. We walked on grass and dirt. It was beautiful in the park. After about 30 minutes, we still seemed far from the carousel and Stella agreed to go back into the stroller so I could run and try to get there quickly. I enticed her by promising that soon she would be riding a horse. I walked on not sure exactly where in the park this pesky ride was hidden. After awhile, when I was fairly certain that we were very close, I peered over the stroller's sunshade to confer with my partner and this is what I saw:

















Needless to say, I turned around and walked home, Stella sleeping all the way. Truly, as a parent, you must be willing to jettison all plans at any moment. Next time perhaps we'll take the subway.