It is at this point that most parents would say, "We have had a good full Saturday," and proceed home to get the little one's in bed. Unfortunately, this is not where this fun day comes to a close. Upon pulling into the driveway, we decide that it would be a great time to take the kids out for a short little bike ride. I must explain that the summer in North Dakota is quite bright (meaning that it doesn't get dark until eleven, at the earliest). Therefore, with it still being quite sunny out we hopped on our newly purchased bikes and trailer for a short little ride. This is where things begin to go wrong, terribly wrong. To begin, I took the wrong street. I took the long street. I know this base quite well, but I was completely distracted by the excitement of how great it was that our whole little family was out on our bikes; dad on his bike, pulling the two little one's in the trailer behind, the two older boys each on their bikes, and of course I was on my bike. It seemed so perfect.
Not long into the trip, the two little ones began to fuss. Just a little at first, but after a while the baby girl's complaints turned into an all out meltdown. The short little ride was taking longer than it should. Brycen was having to stop every forty five seconds for a drink, and was complaining the entire ride of how exhausted he was. Normally, it takes our family about twenty minutes to walk to the place that we were attempting to ride, and already we had been gone thirty minutes! We were forced to take a break. We stopped on a corner that had a small bus-stop (basically a bench surrounded with open glass). This is where I nursed the baby. At this point, we knew the journey had come to an end so we proceeded to turn around and head home. The two little ones were not happy with this idea at all. Anything that meant getting back in the trailer was out of the question as far as they were concerned, but we had no other choice we had to get them home. We only got a couple of blocks before Brycen had to stop again. At this point, Nolan (the second youngest) began complaining of feeling sick. Daddy stopped for a minute, but he seemed to be ok, so we pressed on. Nolan and Delaney (the two youngest) began fussing again. I finally decided that the best thing would be for daddy to get them on home, and I would lag behind with Brycen. Off daddy went, pedalling with a purpose. Unfortunately, he didn't get very far.
When I first approached the scene, I thought that Daddy had stopped to let Nolan pee. However, as I drew nearer I examined the red and orange liquid that had made it's appearance on the entire front of Nolan's body, and Delaney's, and now Daddy's...yuck! "He threw up?" I asked. "Hold her," he replies. "Ummm, o.k. now what?" We were still several blocks from home with two babies covered in puke, four bikes, a trailer and two children now chasing after a stray cat that they saw wondering in the street. I looked at my watch 10:00 pm! "Oh my Lord! When did I become this parent? Look at us. What are we going to do? How are we going to get these babies home, and these bikes? Aidan, Brycen, leave that cat alone!" Ok. So, I phoned a friend. Her husband brought his truck, and we all made it home safely. If I had to tag a moral to this story I'm not sure exactly which one I would choose.
It is easy to look back and know where the day took a turn for the worse. It is easy to admit that we tried to cram a little too much into one single summer Saturday. It is easy to say what I should have done, but if I have learned anything from being a mom it is that we are all human. We all make mistakes. I hope you remember this the next time you are standing on the side of the road on a bike, holding a baby, and covered in puke. Also, I hope you remember that it's always a good idea to phone a friend. Thank you Taylor, thanks Chris!
