Day three: All I do is shop

Since I stopped driving, every time I return to the house I think, “That was a learning experience. Next time will be better.”

Well, I’m waiting.

Last night I briefly thought I had killed my 7-month-old daughter Penelope when she started wheezing during a walk downtown in 90-degree heat. Today, my weekly grocery trip took 2 1/2 hours, and that was without the girls.

Although fairly certain I’m not a complete moron, taking the bus is hard.

I’ve softened to the demands of public transportation. There's a lot of waiting and I don't even wear a watch, much less time to the minute when I need to get somewhere.
I'll be happy when I get past that "I'm a freshman and don't know where homeroom is" kind of feeling from trying something new.

And mainly, it poses a huge inconvenience, and not just for me. I never saw any children, although there were a number of college kids, and I suspect a large majority of people riding didn’t have cars or they would have taken them.

But here’s the other side: In transit to the mall for a new pair of little-girl shoes, I got to spend a bunch of time reading and playing with Carolyn and Penelope, time that might otherwise have been spent looking over my shoulder to see them strapped into car seats. It was fun to see Carolyn’s enthusiasm over our ride on the “school bus."

I hope just I get a little better at planning. I’ll go crazy this month if I have to spend each day shopping because I can’t get organized. It’d be nice to actually interact with other people.

Oh well. It’s a learning experience. Next time will be better.