Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Just a Country Mouse.

I love visiting big cities.

...for the first time, someone apologized for swearing in front of me. And it was just Aaron and the baby and me, not me and the two small children. Many times people have sworn in front of them right here in Fargo, and no one seems to think twice about it. Also, the people in Chicago were trying to parallel park, and the curser was the girl on the sidewalk trying to guide the driver - her back was to us, but the passenger in the car saw us and said sorry - then she turned and apologized also. I thought it was fairly warranted and said so.

...was told 'congratulations' by several people. Granted, Adam is a gorgeous baby who spent most of his time smiling and batting his mile-long eyelashes, but somehow random strangers don't spew this joy when you are towing around two other kids. Maybe they just figure childbirth and baby-ness is old news at that point. It was nice to be able to fully absorb Adam for himself.

...an employee at Crate & Barrel even asked Aaron how he liked being a dad! I think we were both a bit confused, but he said that he liked it fine. Pause. Then I blurted out, "We're not newbies, though! We have 2 other kids at home." The clerk was a bit stunned. I'll take that as a complement that we look young enough to be first-time parents. Not that we look clueless about kids in general.

...Lots of doors were held open for Adam and me, and I loved the power of pushing a stroller on a bustling sidewalk. It felt like Moses parting the Red Sea. I don't think I ran into anyone.

...Our fancy hotel, where the conference was held, didn't have free wi-fi. Whaaat? It had a business center STILL without free Internet. In fact, there was NOTHING free at the hotel. (This is my excuse for not posting earlier!)

...Revolving doors and strollers do not mix.

2 comments:

Kim said...

Chi is not known for free wi-fi. A nephew hung out a Panera with his laptop. We used a neighbors when they didn't turn on password protection:) Starbucks charged $5 to access IF you already had an ATT account! The public library works too if you can get there.......

Noel said...

Paid wi-fi is an instant way to drop a hotel's rank in my rating system. A $10 breakfast buffet is another big drop. $22/night parking is a third big drop. Downtown Chicago has it all....