Sunnidale Park

"Take me home, Nan."

So Simone, Baby B and Eliot the dog got to the playground at Sunnidale Park after much arduous trudging. Simone dutifully followed previously made tracks but Baby B, who lacked the experience to do such a thing and the height to actually see where the tracks were, settled for a series of falls into the snow. Since Baby B does not like to have any sort of dirt, foreign object or snow on his person, the falls into the snow were inevitably followed by squawking from the short guy and dusting and patting from Simone to remove the very offensive snow. Occasionally, she also to reinsert hands into mittens, a complicated operation requiring the use of almost every body part. If you don't believe this, try going out in the snow in your gear (hat, mittens, coat and boots) with a toddler and replace the kid's mittens. Go ahead. Simone dares you.

In the meantime, the dog happily bounded back and forth, frequently knocking Baby B into the snow, thereby necessitating more dusting, patting and mitten fixing upping. Such great fun!

A few minutes at the snow infested playground convinced Baby B that he truly did not want to stay there.

"Kah," he demanded in authoritarian tones. In case Simone failed to comprehend this very clear request, he pointed toward the car, half a mile away, with an unerring sense of direction.

Sighing, Simone agreed to his request. What was she going to do? Make him stay in the cold and the snow and listen to him scream in protest?

"K'wee," demanded the short boss. Danny de Vito has nothing on this kid.

Simone followed orders, like a good Nan. She had to stop every minute or so. Trudging through the snow while carrying a thirty plus kid and avoiding a bounding dog took every ounce of energy she had. Every time she placed Baby B back onto his feet, he hollered, "K'wee! K'wee!" crying energetically. Simone stood there, catching her breath and hoping Eliot the dog would not push her over. Even so, the trip back to the car took half the time than the trip there.

A taxi driver had parked his van next to Simone's car. He was just coming out of the portable potty when Simone dropped Baby B unceremoniously onto the parking lot so she could open the car doors.

"I've been watching you," the taxi guy said to Simone. "I've got a dog and a 3 year old meself and I gotta tell you, you wouldn't be catchin' me going through that snow with both of them. Simone smiled politely and nodded.

Maybe she'd been dropped on the head one too many times as a kid.