First Stroll

Joy was born in December but this Mississippi weather still allows winter babies an occasional stroll outside. There were a couple days in February that weren’t too terribly cold, so we gathered up a few essentials and went for a stroll. We waved to all of the neighbors (squirrels and birds) as we passed, and we took in all of the sights and sounds of the beautiful day (camellias blooming, dogs barking, cars driving by… oh, wait. I mean, car driving by). So where did our first stroll lead us? Down the driveway and back!! It kills me that we really have nowhere to stroll and we LIVE IN THE COUNTRY!! Josh, aka Mr. Safety, doesn’t want us to walk, run, stroll or nothin’ on the road, and we don’t have some fancy park that is quickly and easily accessible. No sidewalks with store fronts. Heck, no sidewalks, period. So, that leaves… yep, just the driveway. Up and down. Up and down. We went up the drive, and then back toward the house. Joy didn’t seem to notice the repetitive scenery. But I did. Ugh. I guess the exercise and the chance to get out is still the same, regardless of where you stroll… but still… it’s disappointing to live in the country where we are supposed to be “free” to do as we please with no city ordinances or strict neighborhood rules getting in the way, and we still can’t be “free.” Mr. Safety is concerned about the cars that travel our road. Excuse me, I must correct myself again: I meant, car. The car… okay, maybe there are two to pass by on a typical day, I’ll give him the benefit of a doubt… the cars that travel our road do not pass his safety standards. They drive too fast, too slow, on the left, on the right, in the center, back-and-forth, or ALL of the above – he can always find something wrong with the cars that frequent our teeny-tiny rural road. So, he prefers that we (kids and me) do not add to the hazardous situation by walking or strolling on the road. Besides, he says, roads are not intended for people. Just car. And, on a particularly busy day, cars. So, I have digressed. Anyway, Joy’s first stroll – here she is in the stroller, ready to go. She’s sorta displaying that deer in the headlights look, isn’t she? She doesn’t quite know what all she’s in for (yet)!

And, here’s Joy’s reaction when the stroller-pusher took a break for just one itsy-weensy second for a photo op:

As you can tell, the 3-year-old opinion of the photo-taking behavior is not a thrilled one, either.

And, here’s Joy’s expression at the end of our stroll, which was, by the way, only twenty minutes after beginning our excursion (Jax and I can only stand so much of the same ole same ole):