Ro on the go
With the exception of one car ride from you-know-where, Rowan […]
Rowan and I waiting for the el. Can you tell which one of us is more nervous?
Rowan, Finn, and I had a play date with one of my friends and her son and dog. So we piled into the car and headed out for the 15-minute drive. Halfway there, though, the car started to give out as we tried to accelerate after a stoplight. My stomach dropped as I pulled to the side of the road. I turned the car off and tried to restart it, but it was no use. Needless to say, we would not be making our play date.
Pre-baby Charli would be panicking and freaking out about being stranded on the side of a busy street in Chicago by myself. But Mama Charli knew I needed to take charge and stay calm in order to keep my boys calm. So I did. I called AAA (that’s why I have it, right?) and my friend Laura, who lives close by. Although AAA took their sweet time coming—noting that I had a baby in the car did not expedite the process, as I’d hoped— Laura came right away.
I removed Rowan from his car seat and put him in his baby carrier, bracing myself for a meltdown at some point between then and whenever the tow truck would come. I was pleasantly surprised when, over the next hour and a half, Rowan kept his cool. He just chilled and waited it out, with much more patience than I had as time kept passing
We got home safe and sound, and Rowan didn’t freak out like I thought he would. Seeing how laid back he was during that ordeal made me more comfortable to take him on the el train. I thought he might get upset over the sound of the train pulling into the station or perhaps get sick with the jerking of the train (I know I do). But again, I was nervous for naught! He loved it. Rowan even made some friends on the el.
I know that his penchant for traveling probably won’t last forever, so in the meantime, I’m taking advantage. However, I’m not quite ready to try bringing Rowan on a plane. We’ll stick to land-based modes of transportation for now…
