I’ve used this quote about the magic of childhood before, but it’s a favorite;
“For a child, every day is like going to Paris and falling in love for the first time”.
I was reminded of it over the weekend, when we took up Big Sis’ excellent suggestion and went for a ride on public transport.
The whole family boarded a tram into the city, with no plan in mind other than - go into town and see what was happening! The kids loved it, I mean really loved it. It made me remember how as a kid something can be so exciting for you, but mundane for the adult world!
Little Bro shouted “Wheeee” every time the tram accelerated from a stop and watched everything outside the window with earnest interest, calling out observations on the top of his voice - “car”, “truck”, “bubba pram”, “tree”!
Big Sis saw the inside of the tram as the main event and enjoyed the way people got on and off, so there was always a fresh person nearby with whom to strike up a conversation! She became quite practiced at the art of small talk and usually managed to get out her name, age, birthday and favorite colour. A few times I stopped her as she gave out her full name and address to total strangers but I find ’stranger danger’ hard to explain to a 3 year old. The way she sees it, if they are sitting that close, they can’t really be strangers!
There was lots of fun to be had in the city, an encounter with the monsters pictured above, a busker who sang songs with his dog (poor Dog - something else you don’t do according to Big Sis) and even lunch in Chinatown!
But somehow nothing compared to the public transport ride - the kids were elated when we once again boarded the number 196 tram and traveled back home from whence we came! Big Sis extracted a promise that next weekend we will ride a train. DSO and I are determined to enjoy these simple tastes while they last - its certainly cheaper than flying to Paris!
magic of childhood, public transport, trams
July 18th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Wow, thanks for the reminder. You’re right. Lots of things are so new and exciting to kids!
Stumbling you.
July 18th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
I know - sometimes they enjoy a walk around the block as much as a trip to the zoo!
July 19th, 2007 at 2:55 am
Now that is a COOL idea, love it! I wish we lived closer to a city so we could do this… but maybe the next time we travel.
July 19th, 2007 at 3:28 am
My boys like to ride the metro mover downtown - it’s like a metro but a couple stories above ground. They sit in the front and look directly out the front window - it’s like an amusement ride! I love your masthead!
July 19th, 2007 at 5:03 am
We don’t have anything like that here
But I’m sure my kids would love to ride one!
The simple things in life are the best!
July 19th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
I can’t believe Big Sis didn’t like the busker and his dog. Miss M’s had to drag me away from them several times - I always give them money and if I’m really lucky, the dog shakes my hand! I’ll remember not to let Mr Dog serenade her anytime soon …
July 20th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
It’s not that she didn’t love the dog - just that the tram was the real winner. Please don’t tell her Mr Dog can sing, poor old Dog is looking like the worlds most underachieving pet to Big Sis at the moment!
July 20th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Don’t worry - I’ll muzzle him up next time she visits. For whatever it’s worth, I think Dog is beautiful!
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:03 pm
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July 25th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
my son is like that too. to him there are no strangers. it scares me silly.
July 28th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
When we went to Sea World, one of my children’s very favorite parts of the whole vacation was riding on the city bus from the campground to the park.
They are amazing…everything is an adventure.