Go Ask Dad on Walk-to-School Wednesdays
“I’m just in for the dogs.” So says my kindergartner about walk-to-school Wednesdays.
The first Wednesday in November was National Walk to School Day. I welcomed this event. As I’ve written before, the morning school drop-off can be, um, stressful.
Granted, walking to school means getting my kids out the door 15 minutes earlier than usual. But I have to tell you, it’s worth it.
We meet up with a gaggle of parents and students at the local park about a mile from the school’s campus. There is also a pack of four-legged friends of various shapes and sizes, each of whom is happy to be petted by a little girl in a puffy coat and pigtails. We get off to a slow start. We should probably leave our house 20 minutes early.
My middle son, however, bounds ahead with his crew of buddies. All of them are in gym shorts, even though there have been mornings when the temperature is below freezing. The dogs look at them like, “Dude, y’all are crazy.”
Strolling in between those poorly-dressed sprinters and the slow-paced, canine lovers are the older children. In their minds, they are too cool for this, especially since their parents think it is fun. Yet, while they walk, they huddle in conversation, sharing secrets about video games, bemoaning their fathers and their lame jokes. I give them space, but from a distance, I can tell that they’re having fun, too.
I walk with my fellow parents. While keeping an eye on the kiddos, we still take in the sights of the neighborhood, including the two-story inflatable reindeer on the corner. Pedestrians wave as they pass, and cars are very willing to stop and let us cross the street.
I'm in it to get my kids to school safely. But along the way, I’ve met new dads and been able to share about the odd and wondrous adventure of parenting. (Your kid also wears shorts when it’s freezing outside?) I’ve even learned a few more jokes: Why did the skeleton not attend the dance? He had no body to go with! What’s more impressive than a talking parrot? A spelling bee!
Our kids raced off before they had to endure another joke, slipping through the school doors just before the tardy bell rang.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of Little Big Moments, a collection of mini-essays about parenting, and Tigers, Mice & Strawberries: Poems. Both titles are available most anywhere books are sold online. Taylor-Troutman lives in Chapel Hill where he serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church and occasionally stumbles upon the wondrous while in search of his next cup of coffee.
