Venturing out of our little town, exhausting!
An outing with the family today made us realise we really like living in an underpopulated rural setting.
We used to spend a lot of time in Boston when we first started dating, went to a lot of music shows and bars. We did the Worcester scene with our rugby pals. Then we moved to the "country." Today reminded both of us how much we prefer less.
We wanted to go to REI to get some much needed boots for little man, REI has the best sales! We decided to make a day of it. We hit the road for Framingham and twenty minutes in already had to stop for a Father son pit stop at the RTE 140 gas station toilet where, as my son puts it "Me and Daddy peed at the same time!!!!!"
Most of the ride Z was car sick and needed complete silence, something her father is incapable of when requested. I tried to explain to him that when you are car sick silence is golden. He just kept on and on with "It's okay Z just breath in and out, there's no reason to be sick." And on and on... As someone who has suffered from car sickness my entire life I empathised with Z and kept telling Steve it wasn't helpful. See Steve is a lecturer by nature, or nurture, I am not quite sure. Regardless, he is a lecturer, even when he is trying to help. When one sentence will suffice, twelve is the given. I don't want to offed him when I ask him to back down, but I know how bad it sucks to have someone rambling on and on when you can't even comprehend what they are saying because you are trying to control your entire being in an effort not to projectile vomit all over the back seat.
Window down, Tristan "I'm cold" window up.
Zoe "I'm going to be sick" window down,
Tristan "It's raining on me," window up.
The ride from Princeton to to Framingham felt longer than last summers drive from Princeton to Michigan, seriously!
We finally made it. I had Steve drop us a little ways away from the restaurant so Zoe could get her land legs, and stomach back. "That was close one" she said! Oh man, I so know exactly what she was talking about. We met T and Steve at John Harvards and had a nice meal. We watched the Olympic Hockey Team lose to Canada. Tristan kept falling under the table because his booster seat was at a slant and he choked on an ice cube, and once again my long pointer finger saved the day, that and some hot chocolate to melt the piece that remained stuck in his throat for a little bit. Zoe decided to work on her rainbow loom skills while lunching. We should always have a list of what we brought because the things that she would have left behind are too numerous to list. As I handed her each article of clothing and item, mostly from under the table, (the cleanest place in any restaurant) she just took them not even thinking if hadn't handed them to her they would be lost forever. This is an ongoing theme for the Z-Meister, she has some organizational difficulties (apparently hereditary!) Seems we need a professional for all of us at this point!
Then it's off to REI, by way of taking our lives in our hands getting out of our parking spot and the lot in general at Shopper's World. The name alone makes me feel ashamed to be there. It screams "I AM CONSUMING TODAY. I AM SPENDING MONEY ON THINGS I PROBABLY DON'T NEED, but that's what you do when you're at Shopper's World. It's like Sea World for those that love to shop, only THEY are the entertainment.
We hit REI with full bellies and bladders so first stop, potty. Then the three of us, Z, Steve and myself simultaneously checked out the sales racks and chased a fully fueled, three year old who can dodge and hide behind and between racks like it's an Olympic sport! It's exactly my idea of how NOT to spend your time. Totally not conducive to shopping if you want to make a conscious purchase. In the end I got nothing, we found boots for Tristan and Steve. The kids were obsessed with all the little chachkie things by the register that NO ONE NEEDS and just made the trip all the more enjoyable as we tried to leave the store.
I really wanted to hit a few more stores but wasn't sure any of us could handle it. We went to Marshall's but by then my mind was mush, my eyes were blurry and I had no idea why I was even there. The kids had caught onto the "Can I get" concept very quickly so we found a few small things and headed for the car, again.
"Do we have avocados at home?" "I don't think so." Well, maybe we could just do a quick stop at Whole Foods?" That is such an oxymoron, "quick stop at Whole Foods" is like getting a healthy meal at Five Guys, FAT CHANCE! We knew what we were getting into but we are rarely in that area so we bit the bullet. Another hell parking lot experience and into the lovely confines of Whole Foods. Where you want to stop and smell and read everything. You want to spend the day there smelling and tasting and just admiring the mere gravity defying formation of produce. It's a magical place. A highly over-priced magical place, but magical nonetheless. It's like Disney World for adults who are trying to be conscious about their food choices.
Kids, well...three year old found the freezer section to be most entertaining because an open freezer door was like a chalkboard, even if there was a guy stocking same said freezer, apparently there was plenty of room for the stock person and le petit arti'st! Ten year old found the bakery counter and couldn't decide between the mini fruit tart or the large holiday size; I did inform her that she could get a treat, but nothing would be in the form of 8" round, even if it was covered in fruit!
We got stuck staring at cheese we've never heard of, coffee bags the size of the ones Juan Valdez's burrow used to carry, the dog bone section and the bakery section.
We did make it out having spent just over $100 which is amazing for a Whole Foods Trip, but two bags at that price just doesn't feel right. Especially since we skipped almost all the isles in the middle!
Then the ride home. Steve took the day off and couldn't for the life of himself understand why the traffic was so heavy. We were in five o'clock traffic, on Friday. Hooray!!!!!!!
Three year old ate a chocolate treat and then proceeded to chant and kick the back of my seat most of the ride home. Ten year old worked on her rainbow looms and bickered with chocolate induced brother in her Tweeny attitude voice that grates on ones nerves like not much else can.
Husband and I just couldn't imagine doing that daily. The traffic, the shopping, the kids in and out of the car, the parking lots and rude people, the miserable people, the people in general. The consumerism. We find that living in the country we don't feel the need to buy, buy, buy. And when we do it's usually planned and minimally stressful. We agreed that while we love going into the city, we definitely prefer the quiet, slower paced and less commercial townie life!
So good to be back in the sticks!
We used to spend a lot of time in Boston when we first started dating, went to a lot of music shows and bars. We did the Worcester scene with our rugby pals. Then we moved to the "country." Today reminded both of us how much we prefer less.
We wanted to go to REI to get some much needed boots for little man, REI has the best sales! We decided to make a day of it. We hit the road for Framingham and twenty minutes in already had to stop for a Father son pit stop at the RTE 140 gas station toilet where, as my son puts it "Me and Daddy peed at the same time!!!!!"
Most of the ride Z was car sick and needed complete silence, something her father is incapable of when requested. I tried to explain to him that when you are car sick silence is golden. He just kept on and on with "It's okay Z just breath in and out, there's no reason to be sick." And on and on... As someone who has suffered from car sickness my entire life I empathised with Z and kept telling Steve it wasn't helpful. See Steve is a lecturer by nature, or nurture, I am not quite sure. Regardless, he is a lecturer, even when he is trying to help. When one sentence will suffice, twelve is the given. I don't want to offed him when I ask him to back down, but I know how bad it sucks to have someone rambling on and on when you can't even comprehend what they are saying because you are trying to control your entire being in an effort not to projectile vomit all over the back seat.
Window down, Tristan "I'm cold" window up.
Zoe "I'm going to be sick" window down,
Tristan "It's raining on me," window up.
The ride from Princeton to to Framingham felt longer than last summers drive from Princeton to Michigan, seriously!
We finally made it. I had Steve drop us a little ways away from the restaurant so Zoe could get her land legs, and stomach back. "That was close one" she said! Oh man, I so know exactly what she was talking about. We met T and Steve at John Harvards and had a nice meal. We watched the Olympic Hockey Team lose to Canada. Tristan kept falling under the table because his booster seat was at a slant and he choked on an ice cube, and once again my long pointer finger saved the day, that and some hot chocolate to melt the piece that remained stuck in his throat for a little bit. Zoe decided to work on her rainbow loom skills while lunching. We should always have a list of what we brought because the things that she would have left behind are too numerous to list. As I handed her each article of clothing and item, mostly from under the table, (the cleanest place in any restaurant) she just took them not even thinking if hadn't handed them to her they would be lost forever. This is an ongoing theme for the Z-Meister, she has some organizational difficulties (apparently hereditary!) Seems we need a professional for all of us at this point!
Then it's off to REI, by way of taking our lives in our hands getting out of our parking spot and the lot in general at Shopper's World. The name alone makes me feel ashamed to be there. It screams "I AM CONSUMING TODAY. I AM SPENDING MONEY ON THINGS I PROBABLY DON'T NEED, but that's what you do when you're at Shopper's World. It's like Sea World for those that love to shop, only THEY are the entertainment.
We hit REI with full bellies and bladders so first stop, potty. Then the three of us, Z, Steve and myself simultaneously checked out the sales racks and chased a fully fueled, three year old who can dodge and hide behind and between racks like it's an Olympic sport! It's exactly my idea of how NOT to spend your time. Totally not conducive to shopping if you want to make a conscious purchase. In the end I got nothing, we found boots for Tristan and Steve. The kids were obsessed with all the little chachkie things by the register that NO ONE NEEDS and just made the trip all the more enjoyable as we tried to leave the store.
I really wanted to hit a few more stores but wasn't sure any of us could handle it. We went to Marshall's but by then my mind was mush, my eyes were blurry and I had no idea why I was even there. The kids had caught onto the "Can I get" concept very quickly so we found a few small things and headed for the car, again.
"Do we have avocados at home?" "I don't think so." Well, maybe we could just do a quick stop at Whole Foods?" That is such an oxymoron, "quick stop at Whole Foods" is like getting a healthy meal at Five Guys, FAT CHANCE! We knew what we were getting into but we are rarely in that area so we bit the bullet. Another hell parking lot experience and into the lovely confines of Whole Foods. Where you want to stop and smell and read everything. You want to spend the day there smelling and tasting and just admiring the mere gravity defying formation of produce. It's a magical place. A highly over-priced magical place, but magical nonetheless. It's like Disney World for adults who are trying to be conscious about their food choices.
Kids, well...three year old found the freezer section to be most entertaining because an open freezer door was like a chalkboard, even if there was a guy stocking same said freezer, apparently there was plenty of room for the stock person and le petit arti'st! Ten year old found the bakery counter and couldn't decide between the mini fruit tart or the large holiday size; I did inform her that she could get a treat, but nothing would be in the form of 8" round, even if it was covered in fruit!
We got stuck staring at cheese we've never heard of, coffee bags the size of the ones Juan Valdez's burrow used to carry, the dog bone section and the bakery section.
We did make it out having spent just over $100 which is amazing for a Whole Foods Trip, but two bags at that price just doesn't feel right. Especially since we skipped almost all the isles in the middle!
Then the ride home. Steve took the day off and couldn't for the life of himself understand why the traffic was so heavy. We were in five o'clock traffic, on Friday. Hooray!!!!!!!
Three year old ate a chocolate treat and then proceeded to chant and kick the back of my seat most of the ride home. Ten year old worked on her rainbow looms and bickered with chocolate induced brother in her Tweeny attitude voice that grates on ones nerves like not much else can.
Husband and I just couldn't imagine doing that daily. The traffic, the shopping, the kids in and out of the car, the parking lots and rude people, the miserable people, the people in general. The consumerism. We find that living in the country we don't feel the need to buy, buy, buy. And when we do it's usually planned and minimally stressful. We agreed that while we love going into the city, we definitely prefer the quiet, slower paced and less commercial townie life!
So good to be back in the sticks!
did it work?
ReplyDeleteHi Colleen, Another great blog! Having been raised in Framingham (Bob and I actually met at Shopper's World!) I very much appreciate the wildness of Wellfleet, and I go out of my way to avoid Hyannis and even Orleans, until absolutely necessary. Here's to country life!
ReplyDeleteGreat story
ReplyDelete