10 Miles Uphill, in a Blizzard
Yesterday the kids all wanted to go to the pool. No problem. We got on suits and everyone got a towel. And then they learned that I expected them to ride a bike to the pool.
We live about a mile from the pool. They walked the distance last year. Mostly I drove them. This year the youngest kid is 81/2, they all have bikes, and they all know how to ride (Sophia was the last holdout on that front, but she mastered two wheels this spring).
Frank needed air in his tires and didn't know how to use the pump. Sophia couldn't get her kickstand up. Mary didn't want to ride to the pool at all because the hills were "so hard." Anna doesn't like her bike since the chain falls off and she can't fix it. Claire expected me to carry her towel for her. (How was I going to carry six towels on a bike? Clearly Claire was not thinking about that.)
"Look, just hang your towel around your neck," I demonstrated to oohs of appreciation as if I had discovered how to travel through time. "It's called a kickstand, because you have to kick it," I said as I put the kickstand up. I gave a quick lecture on the purpose of gears (to make it easier to go up hills, for example) and suggested that easing the gear change helps keep the chain from jumping. I showed Frank that you have to push the lever down to hold the pump to the tire before you begin to pump.
And we were off. We made it to the pool despite the hills. I snagged a lounge chair poolside and the kids jumped in the water. I lay in the sun and wondered how it was possible that I raised such helpless creatures. My parents never drove me to the pool. And I remember putting air in my own tires and putting the chain back on when it jumped off. I would get up, deliver newspapers and take myself to the pool. I would get up, deliver newspapers, return my library books and get new ones and take myself to the pool. I would get up, deliver newspapers, do chores around the house, return my library books and get new ones, and take myself to the pool. I would get up, deliver newspapers, do chores around the house, return my library books and get new ones, make lunch, mow the lawn and take myself to the pool. I would get up, deliver newspapers, return my library books and get new ones, make lunch, mow the lawn and take myself to the pool before coming home to help with home improvement projects and gardening. Then I would shower and go to bed early so I could get up in time to get my newspapers delivered.
That's the way I remember it at least.
We live about a mile from the pool. They walked the distance last year. Mostly I drove them. This year the youngest kid is 81/2, they all have bikes, and they all know how to ride (Sophia was the last holdout on that front, but she mastered two wheels this spring).
Frank needed air in his tires and didn't know how to use the pump. Sophia couldn't get her kickstand up. Mary didn't want to ride to the pool at all because the hills were "so hard." Anna doesn't like her bike since the chain falls off and she can't fix it. Claire expected me to carry her towel for her. (How was I going to carry six towels on a bike? Clearly Claire was not thinking about that.)
"Look, just hang your towel around your neck," I demonstrated to oohs of appreciation as if I had discovered how to travel through time. "It's called a kickstand, because you have to kick it," I said as I put the kickstand up. I gave a quick lecture on the purpose of gears (to make it easier to go up hills, for example) and suggested that easing the gear change helps keep the chain from jumping. I showed Frank that you have to push the lever down to hold the pump to the tire before you begin to pump.
And we were off. We made it to the pool despite the hills. I snagged a lounge chair poolside and the kids jumped in the water. I lay in the sun and wondered how it was possible that I raised such helpless creatures. My parents never drove me to the pool. And I remember putting air in my own tires and putting the chain back on when it jumped off. I would get up, deliver newspapers and take myself to the pool. I would get up, deliver newspapers, return my library books and get new ones and take myself to the pool. I would get up, deliver newspapers, do chores around the house, return my library books and get new ones, and take myself to the pool. I would get up, deliver newspapers, do chores around the house, return my library books and get new ones, make lunch, mow the lawn and take myself to the pool. I would get up, deliver newspapers, return my library books and get new ones, make lunch, mow the lawn and take myself to the pool before coming home to help with home improvement projects and gardening. Then I would shower and go to bed early so I could get up in time to get my newspapers delivered.
That's the way I remember it at least.
posted by Lea at 1:32 PM
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