Smell the Roses

Taking a walk with a 2-year-old can be a little like plucking each hair off of your arm as slowly and deliberately as possible but in no order whatsoever. As best I can gather, here are the top 10 requirements for any 2-year-old walking excursion:

1. Do not walk in a straight line
2. Do not walk at an even pace
3. Do not walk at a pace resembling anything faster than a small turtle
4. Do not pass by an interesting object without stopping to touch it
5. Do not pass by a flower without stopping to smell it
6. Do not pass by a grate without bending down to see where it leads
7. Do not pass by a grate without dropping a stone down to confirm where it leads
8. Do not pass by a strange dog without trying to pet it
9. Do not pass by a bug without inspecting and then being deathly frightened by it
10. Do not forget to say what color the sky is, what the weather is like, or what color you are wearing
11. (10.5) Do not forget to repeat the same phrase from step 10 over and over for the duration of the walk.
    

I would say that on a typical 2-year-old walk, you need to at least quadruple the time that it would take an average adult to walk the same distance. For example, going to the park near our house should be a 2 minute walk. It can take 15-20 minutes if Hailey walks the whole thing. I allow for extra time because we are still refusing to hold Mommy’s hand when crossing the street which happens to be one of Mommy’s only requirements. Plus, maintaining all of these requirements simultaneously during a walk is quite tasking on Mommy, although they are absolutely no problem for the 2-year-old.

Regardless of how excruciatingly slow the walking process can be, it can be really fun to see the world through Hailey’s eyes. I’m trying very hard to have less anxiety related to time, so walks with Hailey really test my ability to stop and smell the roses myself. It's a good exercise for all of us.