If yesterday was a lesson, it’d be: enjoy the journey

One of the perks of stay-home mothering is room for spontaneity, a quality often sacrificed in exchange for scheduled routines and regularity.

Yesterday though, was one of those days I decided to play the spontaneity card and be all “ok forget routine, let’s go do something fun just because we can.” Right after they got up from their naps, I told the kids we were going on a field trip to the airport. By bus. Just with mommy.

A year ago, I would have considered something like this to be a suicide mission and not to mention, a physical impossibility. I would have needed to carry 2 kids, a stroller and a diaper bag UP A BUS AND TRAIN. Now I’m not a public transport snob (even though I haven’t been on a bus for 2 years), but the thought of hauling 2 kids and half a mobile home up a bus seems ridiculous. I would have been the mother who dropped a kid while struggling to tap my EZ-link card with my teeth as the rest of the passengers gasped in horror.

Before we left the house, I gave them a pep talk to lay down some ground rules.

1. They were to carry their own bags so I could saunter freely along.

2. They were to hold my hands at all times.

3. No whining or tantrums or meltdowns.

Any violations would result in immediate termination and we would turn right back around, hop into a cab and head straight home (that was my back up plan for when something goes awry).

Long story short, it was a hugely successful field trip, one that will be remembered for all time as THE MOST AWESOME FIELD TRIP ALONE WITH MOMMY. They were on their best behavior the whole time, waiting patiently for the bus, sitting absolutely still on the train and following every instruction I gave (at one point, I made them do the Hot Potato dance just for my own entertainment). The journey to the airport took me an hour and a half and we enjoyed every moment of it.

So then that made me realize that I was guilty of being so destination-driven all the time. We talk about “enjoying the ride” like the overused catchphrase that it is without actually meaning it because the journey is so like meh, totally boring.

But for the kids, the journey was as much a highlight as the destination. Being on the bus and train was as enjoyable as being at the airport. So instead of stoning out and wishing the travelling wasn’t such a pain, I should just stop and enjoy the crap out of the journey.

Looking back at our recent Florida trip, some of the best moments we had was during the journey – waiting for the bus to arrive or being on the tram talking for hours. Sure, the destination was all kinds of fun but those long talks and bonding sessions, we had them on the go.

In short, remember to enjoy the journey, won’t you?

PS. I wanted to take some pictures but being alone on an adventure with both kids, I kind of had my hands full. You’ll just have to use your imagination.