Hop on the sidewalk and tip toe past the pigeons

It is windy as hell. I complain. It's what grown up's do when it's windy as hell. And you are on your way to a 9:45 am appointment for your 6 year old's routine eye check up at the optometrist. And then you have to drop him back home, and then get to work, and then work later to make up for the morning hours.....

'Hold my hand"..he says, "And hop."
"Hop?" Here...on the street, with so many people walking by, watching?. "Hop??", I say
Ya, mom...like, take really giant steps, and hop..that way, you won't feel the wind so much and you won't mind it and we will get to the subway fast. It's fun,"

Okaaaaayyyyy....I say, as he begins to hop.


And so I begin to hop. Hesitatingly at first. Then, with gusto. Because, really , it works. I don't feel the biting wind anymore. And I'm having fun.

And so there we are. A 6 year old boy in his spiderman snow shoes and a woman in her corporate attire, Hopping and skipping on the sidewalk, at 9 am in the morning.

"Now tiptoe", he says. "Be quiet. See the pigeons there. We can't disturb them eating otherwise they won't find their food."


And just like that, we switch. From hopping loudly to tiptpeing silently. On our tippy toes. We do the last stretch that way. So the pigeons can continue eating. Undisturbed.

"The train, the train, the train.....it's like a rocket ship. Let's pretend it is a rocket ship. Cone on, otherwise we'll be left behind. You know what I don't like. Being alone on the station. It's scary. Are we there yet? Is the next one our station. Is our station college? College Park. Why is this station called Museum. Oh, because we can walk to the museum from here. Mommmy, can we go the museum after. Why is this one called St. Patrick? You don;t know? Oh, I know like St. Patrick's day. See, I know. Is it St. Patrick's day today? Are we there yet? Is the next our station? What will the eye doctor do? Do you have cookies? I'm hungry? I want apple juice. Are we there yet.'

Spadina to College Park. 9 subway stops. 1001 questions and observations. Of a 6 year old.

We now sit in the lobby of the optometrist's office.

"Why doesn't the doctor see us now? IS it going to be longer? I remember this place. I came when I was little. Was I four years old? Was I in your tummy? I remember that machine. The lady asked to me focus with my eyes and look for a house. The eye doctors asked me to read things. That time I could not read very well. Where is the eye doctor. Mommmmmy, I'm bored. Why is that lady here? Do I eat my carrot? I'm super excited. Mommmy, I am bored. "

Lobby to Optometrist's room. 17 minutes. 1001 questions and observations. Of a 6 year old.

"Hi, Rohan", pleasant looking optometrist lady aka eye doctor.

"Hi", eager to begin 6 year old.

Wow, super coool", 6 year old checking out optometry type equipment in pleasant looking optometrist lady's office.

E, R, L, Y
H, G. T. U
H, t, w, R

The check up fares well. The 6 year old is asked to do some super cool stuff like look here, look there, follow the light , read these letters, hold this against the left eye, and so on and so forth. The chair he sits on can go up and won. Super cool. Him and the optometrist chat away. He tells her stuff. She tries telling him stuff but doesn't really stand a chance. except to slip a few words in now and then. The eyes are declared healthy. The 6 year old is happy. He gets stickers. Two of them. He declares the eye doctor trip way better then the dentist trip.


We're back in the train.

'Are we there yet. My eyes are strong. That's what the doctor said. I could read all the letters. Did I get any wrong. I don't need glasses. Because I eat my carrots. I'm thirsty. why is it called St. Patrick station. Is it Christmas yet?"


I drop him home. I head back to work.

And as I walk back the same route to the subway station, things just feel a little different. Fro one, I'm not thinking of the biting cold. In fact, when no one's looking, I do a few hops. I even remember to tiptoe past the pigeons. I don't pretend the train is a rocket ship. But I do make a note to myself to find out why St. Patrick station is called St. Patrick.

And as I sit in the train, listening to Mayer crooning through my headphones, I smile a little smile. It's just so super cool seeing the world the eyes of a 6 year old.