The morning Sydney left, both kids were up by 7am. Until recently, these kids hadn’t been getting up before 9, so this is a pretty major shift. We’re out the door and back from the park well before I would usually have managed to get them rounded up for an outing. Naps are early, and they are shorter than usual, but neither kid is going to sleep any earlier at night. From what I can tell, both Katherine and Nathaniel have just willfully cut a good 1.5 hours of sleep from their daily schedules and, consequently, from mine. I think part of Nathaniel’s problem is the new molars erupting in the back of his mouth, but Katherine just appears to be along for the ride. Needless to say, we have plenty of time for play in our day . . .
In good news, we discovered a new park today, filled with ancient trees, birdsong, and lovely paths. Headington Hill Park, the former grounds of a major estate and now city property, connects to the parks that the kids and I walk nearly every day, just by our house, so now we have quite a system of park walks leading to different parts of the city. I have to hand it to the English: they have a long tradition of public-access footpaths in both city and country, and they’ve really built in good pedestrian walkways so that people can walk from home to town or work. Very different from the American system, which ignores pedestrians in favor of car lanes.
Erin
Alan Schmierer
Hang in there, Erin! When does Sydney get back? The new park sounds fantastic! I’m so jealous of all the parks near you… we have so few options here.
Hi, Laura! We’re nearly there: Sydney comes back on Tuesday, though I think he would like a few more days in Ithaca. I am very keen on the parks, too, and I’m quite pleased that I didn’t let myself forget to check this one out. As much as I love Ithaca, the lovely terrain there is less stroller-friendly than it is here. Of course, today it’s pouring rain, which makes it a bit more of a challenge to get out. But I suppose we’re not getting your heat!