As so often happens, a decision to tear out the old wall-to-wall carpet in our bedroom and downstairs office has turned into a massive cleaning project requiring multiple trips to Goodwill and the Salvation Army. We’re giving away everything: clothes, toys, kitchen supplies, appliances. A friend in need has taken furniture and shelving. On Monday, a truck will load the leftovers and haul them to the dump.
But the one item I cannot part with is our old baby jogger. Today, new moms push fancy McLarens, BOBs, and Bugaboos, but back in 2003, in the midst of Olivia’s adoption, baby joggers reigned as the popular choice. Besides, in 2003, I was living in Antigua, Guatemala, fostering my daughter. The jogger was the only stroller capable of rolling over Antigua’s cobblestone streets. I was one of eight American moms fostering in Antigua then, during the first shutdown of adoptions due to the Hague Treaty. No one had cars. The jogger was our minivan equivalent.
Together, Olivia and I logged a lot of miles with that stroller. When Mateo joined our family, I pushed him in it, too. Though the axels are rusty, and the green canvas faded and torn, I’ll never get rid of it. That jogger is part of our history.
ShareThisTags: adoptive families, fostering in Antigua, Guatemalan adoption
Mount it and hang it on the wall! 🙂
I felt like a limb had been ripped from my body the day Mick gave away my jogger. It worked terribly as a jogger, but it converted to a bike trailer – and I’d trained for a marathon, awkwardly pushing my two babies/toddlers all over Bellingham, Washington, in that thing, and then I’d logged all kinds of miles in Marin with it, pulling those two little squirts behind my bike.
Guard that jogger with your life, Jessica!
I understand that feeling of the limb being ripped off. My sympathy! My jogger is stashed under our deck, where it will stay forever. Thanks for your comment, Anjie. (Very impressive that you’ve run a marathon, btw, although not at all surprising.)
We still have our jogging stroller too!! We outgrew it years ago but I CAN’T get rid of it. Everyday I think I will donate, give away, sell, eBay, abandon, or walk past. Because I can’t commit to any one thing I just pause and move on. I have not used it for longer than I used it! It is a permanent fixture in our garage. I can’t imagine not passing it every day. I may never get rid of it.
Funny, Cathy. So glad to know I’m not the only one.