I remember as a new parent I kept hearing about how everything your
kids go through is just a phase and not to worry about it much –
because no matter what it is, it’s going to change eventually. It
didn’t take long to discover that myself and for me, it’s one of the
most interesting aspects of being a parent.
One of the best baby shower presents we received before Stone and Ty
were born was a twin baby jogger. I’ve been a runner since my early
20s and very much planned to continue an active lifestyle as much as
possible after the birth of the twins.
I still remember the first time I took the boys out for a run in that
jogger. They were only 2 months old and it was a cold January Sunday
afternoon. I bundled them up as best I could and strapped them in and
took off. They did pretty well for awhile but then Ty started crying.
I tried to sooth him but of course I had no idea why he was so upset.
I turned around after about a mile and a half and headed back home
with him still screaming. When I got home I figured out that the
stocking hat had slid up on his head a bit and his ears were exposed –
the poor guy was just cold!
I learned my lesson from that experience and always made sure to
bundle them up when I took them out jogging in cold weather moving
forward. I was determined not to let bad weather keep me (or the
twins) inside throughout Seattle’s notorious cold and wet winter and
spring. I bought a plastic cover that fit the jogger perfectly – with
little hooks to keep it secure and the boys bone dry. And I headed out
with the boys – a lot.
Taking the twins running was therapeutic on many levels. Of course the
exercise was great on its own – it was a very welcome release from the
stress I felt as a new Dad of twins and entrepreneur trying to launch
a new company. It was also a lot of fun. As the boys got older I would
bring new and different toys and watch them play with them as we
jogged through the streets of Edmonds or on the Burke-Gilman trail.
Over time they were of course more interactive and attentive – I would
laugh as we’d run by flowers and whichever was on that side of the
stroller would lean out and try to grab one (they were usually
successful).
Stone developed a habit that was both funny and annoying (depending
how tired I was). He became the resident “chucker” – he would toss
items from the jogger and think it was hysterical. I often had to stop
and pick up a toy (or shoe or sock) – a few times I even noticed his
shoe or sock were missing and backtracked to fetch them. And a few
times we came back with items missing – never to be seen again.
If you want a guaranteed method of soliciting smiles from strangers,
all you have to do is take a couple of uber-cute twin boys out jogging
as I did. It was amazing the reaction Stone and Ty had on others when
we were out together – people would just beam when they saw them. And
many were very supportive of me – saying “way to go Dad” and “great
job – that’s a great Dad” to me. Of course I was as proud as I could
be showing off my awesome sons – and it was very rewarding to
experience that kind of reaction.
As the boys got older, they naturally got bigger (and heavier). Soon I
found myself pushing around close to 70 pounds combined – and that was
quite a workout. And while they used to fit into the seats in one
small bundle, I was now almost shoe-horning them into their seats and
their legs were long enough that they could drag them against the
front wheel if they wanted. I knew that the day was rapidly
approaching when our shared jogging stroller experiences would come to
an end. And on a warm day last summer on the Burke-Gilman trail, it
finally did. The boys were just too big and too heavy (and frankly too
old) for me to be pushing around in a stroller like that anymore. I’d
like to say that the last run together was one memorable because it
was special and one of my best…but in reality it actually was one of
the worst because I pulled a calf muscle the day before on a
elliptical machine at the gym and aggravated the injury during the
run. So instead of jogging, I had to walk the final 2 miles while
pushing them. I guess in reality it wasn’t that bad, because it was
peaceful and relaxing and I savored the moment with them.
But it was very much a bittersweet feeling as I loaded them and the
stroller into the car. This phase and era was over – for all the right
reasons. But it was over – and like so much in life, in hindsight it
seemed to have passed by much too quickly.
We just closed the final chapter here last weekend when we posted the
jogger on Craigslist and sold it to a young mother who has twins and
another baby on the way. It clearly will be put to good use again. But
when Renee told me that the jogger was gone (and when I noticed the
empty space in the garage when I got home that night) I got a little
teary-eyed. It was like seeing a friend go away forever.
