Wednesday, July 17, 2013

B.O.B. Days Are Over


As if my life is not in enough turmoil right now, I had to say goodbye to the love of my life...B.O.B.

Now before you go thinking that the reason for my move was due to a torrid affair with a dude named Bob, let me clarify.  "Bob" is my B.O.B. double jogging stroller.  In an effort to purge more unnecessary items in our house, I finally caved and put the stroller on Craigslist.

As an avid runner, getting out for a run is my therapy.  It is my time to clear my mind, feel good about myself and in those post-baby months, a way to shed the lbs.  I was worried that I would never run again once I had kids.  With Maddie, I packed her in the Graco Travel System and walked until she was old enough for the single jogging stroller.  I was addicted to that time I got to do something for myself when everything else I did was for someone else. When I couldn't run, I was able to sneak away to the gym during my lunch hour at work. When she was big enough for single jogging stroller, I would run with the empty stroller to the daycare that was was about 2 miles away, pick her up, and then run home.  There were plenty of times people looked at me like I was nuts running with a stroller sans-baby, but it allowed me to multi-task by picking up Maddie at daycare while I worked out and snuck in some quality time with my baby.

Once I had Colin, I thought as long as I got a double jogging stroller, I would be fine.  Some women get diamond necklaces, earrings or bracelets as "push presents." This girl got a $500 double jogging stroller.  I had it ordered even before Colin entered this world. I told Tom this was the only way I could remain sane staying home with two kids.  As soon as I could get out, I walked with the kids.  Just prior to my 6-week appointment when I got my "clearance" from the doctor to workout again, I was trying to do light runs.  Of course, I learned early what "pushing it" with my push present meant--lack of bladder control and returning home from a run having peed my pants. Sad, but true.

I conditioned my kids at an early age to withstand at least a half-hour ride in the jogging stroller. When I faced resistance I bribed them with DumDum suckers, Goldfish crackers and fruit snacks.  I know, kind of counter-intuitive to strive for physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle while I pump my kids full of snacks while they sit in a stroller, but if I've said it once, I've said it a million times--Happy Mom=Happy Kids.  Plus, it taught them to get along in a confined space, got them a daily dose of vitamin D and set a good example of physical fitness.

Along the way, we had lots of fun in our jogging stroller.  We did mini-safari's looking for "wild animals" in suburbia.  While squirrels, bunnies and birds are pretty lame compared to lions and tigers, we did encounter a deer on one of our runs.  We also played games like "I Spy" and Alphabet game where they would have to go through the alphabet and find something with that started with each letter of the ABC's.

I often let the kids pick our course.  We had a few standard courses that we would follow and they got to the point where they knew which ones were not only the most interesting, but the ones that ended at a park.  So many times our runs would end up being a tit-for-tat scenario where I would swear that if they could just let me get my run in, we would go to the park on our way home.  I even went so far as to video tape one of our runs, put it to music and put it on Youtube.  

Santa Run for the Kids 5k with my reindeer.

I ran two 5k races pushing the jogging stroller and still placed in my age group in one of them.  There was a huge sense of pride I felt running with my two kids in that stroller.  The 5k I ran that had built-in fans cheering me on, but even on my daily runs I often got honks, waves and even a "You Go Girl!" from strangers driving by me while I hoofed it up and down the streets of my neighborhood on any given day.  It empowered me, motivated me and made me one bad-ass mama from all that extra resistance! It also prevented me from having three kids because I knew that a Triple-Jogging Stroller just does not exist.

Many times I would have friends from my neighborhood mention that they saw me running with my bright yellow stroller and would marvel in my determination and tenacity.  Most people said they couldn't imagine running at all, let alone pushing two kids in a stroller. Not gonna lie, that made me feel good. 

Eventually, the kids got older and the bribes had to get bigger.  Finally, I couldn't afford the bribes any longer, but more importantly their combined weight made it physically impossible for me to continue to run with both of them.  Tom mentioned selling my jogging stroller and I refused.  With the move, extra expenses adding up and our lack of desire to move any more than absolutely necessary, I finally agreed.

Within two days, I had a bite and sold the stroller.  I literally had to fight back the tears as my baby rolled away.  And no, neither of my kids jumped in the stroller unexpectedly on its departure.  Why so sad?  That stroller represented a major part of my identity for 5 years of my life.  I was the "crazy lady jogging on Miller Rd." in the neighborhood.  I was the mom who refused to throw in the towel on her running habit just because she had two kids.  I was the mom who got her kids up and out each morning instead of sitting in front of the television.  I was the mom who sang songs to her kids while she ran.  It turns out, it wasn't just "my time." It was "our time."

I'll leave you with this link to the video I made three years ago.  I hope you get the idea of why I shed a tear for our friend B.O.B.  So many miles.  So many memories.  

1 comment:

  1. I loved this post, I feel sad for you but also know that you blessed another mama with a great stroller. I have actually seen you running a few times along Miller (solo), did not want to interrupt that run time but loved seeing that familiar face.

    ReplyDelete