The other day I pushed my double running stroller up the hill near our house and it spoke to me. The stroller, that is, not the hill. Although with the steep inclines in Seattle, they’ve spoken to me in other ways.
I was taking the empty stroller to the second-hand shop in our neighborhood so this was our last walk together. With my hands on the padded push bar, the time that I was pushing my kids when up the same hill on a night walk came rushing back at me. My kids were five-years-old and one-year-old and the combined weight including the stroller and our gear was about 100 lbs. There was a sliver of moon in the sky. My daughter looked up at it and said, “Dear God, please help my mom. She needs it.” But she didn’t get off to help me push… 😊
And the memory came to mind of the summer day when I loaded six neighborhood kids on the stroller so we could race down the nearby alley. Our neighbor’s sprinkler was aimed at the alley so we repeatedly rushed past to get a light spray with each circuit.
The amount of gear I could pile on this stroller was impressive. I recalled the time that we loaded it with a strider bike, a scooter, two beach towels, picnic food, and floaties and we headed to the local wading pool. Along the way, we ran into a friend and when one of my kids jumped out to say “hi” and the whole precarious load tipped backwards.
The time at Christmas when we walked to the zoo at night to see the Zoo Light show.
The trek down the road to the Old Norse nursing home for my daughter’s pre-school class to perform holiday songs while my infant son slept.
The repeated circuits around the lake near our house.
I’d guess I’ve done at least a million steps with that stroller in the last five years. It was along for scores of adventures and plenty of tears.
As we went on our last walk, I loved the stroll through so many of the memories. Can our things talk? I think when they’ve had a front row seat to a lot of love, they can.
(featured photo from Pexels)
You can find me on Instagram @wynneleon and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/
I co-host a storytelling podcast featuring authors and artists with the amazing Vicki Atkinson. To tune in, search for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music or Pocketcasts (and subscribe) or click here. Or the YouTube channel features videos of our interviews. Please subscribe!
My other projects include work as a CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer), speaking about creativity and AI through the Chicago Writer’s Association, and my book about my journey to find what fueled my dad’s indelible spark and twinkle can be found on Amazon: Finding My Father’s Faith.