The Magic of the In-Between

I went downstairs to help out with breakfast. The boys looked settled and my mom quietly nudged me out of the room so I didn’t mess up the flow.

I mean, YOU DON’T HAVE TO ASK ME TWICE.

So now I’m upstairs while the boys eat bowls of cereal and eggs, under the careful supervision of Nani.

Yesterday, we stayed home all day long. A much needed reset. We’ve been go-go-going since we got here and I think everyone needed a break. Ishu ended up napping for THREE hours. He doesn’t usually nap at all so, clearly, the kid was wiped.

But once 5pm hit, the restlessness kicked in. So we got dressed and decided to head to the park.

As we were leaving, I reached for the car keys so I could drive us to the park a little further away since the one up the hill from us is under construction. Ishu started pushing back, saying he didn’t want to go in the CAR to the park. He wanted to BIKE to the park.

I explained the plan. We would drive the short 5 minutes to the park and then he could ride his little bike around once we arrived. Still, he insisted. Absolutely no car (#citykid).

So we pivoted.

We decided to walk (and bike) to the further park.

Since it was getting late, I asked one of my parents to pick us up after we’d had some park time.

Around 8:10 p.m., my dad called.

“Where are you guys?” he asked.

“We’re almost to the uphill park,” I replied, with both boys shouting in the background about roly-polies and tree claws and every possible nature discovery.

“You haven’t reached yet?” he asked, baffled.

“Well… no. We’ve been moving slowly. They’ve been wanting to stop and study EVERYTHING.”

We paused for lizards. Picked up rolly-pollies. Collected pinecones. Carefully placed dried flower petals on fingertips. There was apparently a lot to do on the way.

Yet another reminder from my little guys: it’s not really about the park.

It’s about the in-between.

Sure, they love the slides and swings. But I think what they really love is the slow, unhurried, curious walk that leads us there.

By the time we actually reached the park, it was almost time to head back. And they didn’t even protest.

Because they got exactly what they needed.

The in-between.

The wandering. The wondering. The freedom to stop and marvel at all the ants collecting in a crack in the sidewalk. The SPACE to be curious without a clock ticking loudly in the background.

It reminded me, once again, that sometimes the destination isn’t the point at all.

It’s everything we get to notice along the way.