Jogger Stroller Running With My Girls

Men make comments to me all the time when I’m running.  Women do too.  I load up my two kids (one weighing 29lbs and her older sister weighing 42lbs) and head down the street in running clothes that are falling apart and my hair gathered in a messy ponytail.  I get into the rhythm pretty quickly and hear the familiar squeaking noises of my stroller at maximum capacity.  Men eye me and say things like:  “Wow, that’s a work out! or Great Job!”  One lady says, “You’re running fast!”  I’m not really running that fast, but I’m glad I look like I am to some people. 

When my husband came home from work I used to think, ‘Hey I could run without the stroller today,’ but I never really liked the idea.  I enjoy having the company when I run.  I love that my 6-year-old, Maia, talks to me practically the whole way, even if I can’t always hear her.  And my 19-month-old, Sydni starts saying new words that pop up everyday, or she’ll yell, “Yeah!” in agreement with her sister and sometimes even falls asleep.  I stop to check on her, or grab the book she was looking at before it drops out of the stroller and is lost forever.  I think Sydni enjoys the ride, she finds it so relaxing that she sometimes just takes the nap that she’s been resisting all day.  My husband says she is just bored (maybe but I don’t think so).  Even my older daughter, who used to complain whenever I wanted to go running now is enthusiastic about it, even if we’re not passing the shop where we get ice cream for my girls to share.  Before, our ice cream habit started we used to stop and work on her numbers.  We would read the mail box numbers.  Though I did have to remind her we couldn’t stop at every mail box or it wasn’t much of a run.

The weather varies when we go on our treks, since we live in Ohio we get all seasons.  That’s one thing I like about where I live.  I love the autumn.  We see the leaves changing.  The air turns crisp and people start to decorate for the holidays.  We can point out all sorts of cool things when we pass by.  The leaves crunch under the stroller wheels.  In the winter we’re still able to go when it’s not too cold and enjoy a nice run. In the spring we start to see the birth of everything.  The dead trees blossom, animals appear, birds sing again, and it’s just a joy to get outside and feel like the long winter is over and good weather is ahead.  Since my older daughter has just started Kindergarten she won’t get to come with us all the time.  Now sometimes it’s just me and Sydni, then she really does take the opportunity for a much needed nap.  

So as we stroll around our neighborhood we are right there feeling the seasons change, watching the world of activity, learning, relaxing and solving problems.  We’re together, us girls, with memories to hold us together for a life time.  I will always cherish the things that my girls say to me.  It’s the love of exercise, taking care of your self, the freedom of the spirit and the importance of nature that is expressed to them when we run.  It’s the importance of family and being together that started with my dad taking me running, my dad who used to take me to the track with him.  I hold those memories as one of the most important.  He would teach me how to stretch and then give me pointers on running.  He would even teach me how to be a positive person.  My dad won many medals for sprint races through out his life and has always run until recently with some knee problems and temporarily put running on hold 

My love of running and probably my sisters, and brothers all come from the passion my dad has instilled in us- the times we spent together running and talking about running.  Running has always been a family bonding experience for me and my siblings.  The time spent with my dad and now my girls are memories that I will always hold as some of the most precious.