Become a hero for $1.75

I think that the bulk of life is found in regular moments, not vacations or adventures per se, but in the mundane grind of the day that can too easily pass us by.

I have been taking my two year old son out for Saturday morning ‘choo choo’ rides over these past two months and something nearly effortless like this has turned out to be incredibly bonding.  This train, or ‘choo choo’ as he says, is simply a railway to Downtown and costs $1.75 round trip but to my boy it is one of his favorite things on earth right now.  In fact, just last night, he told his Grandma on the phone, “Daddy choo choo” (translation: My Daddy takes me on the train).

While on our twenty-three minute ride, I get to hold my boy close and talk with him.  We look out the windows at the trucks, roadways, and buildings.  I teach him new words and that you have to push the button on the door to exit or that you have to place money into the ticket machine to get the ticket.  Mostly though, we just hang out.  And of course we get to meet others too since toddlers are conversation magnets.  My son naturally says “hello” to the homeless man or to those who look different than we do, and so in a small way on our simple trip, an often typical barrier between class and race begins to crumble.

I don’t feel like a superhero on Saturday mornings.  In fact, I usually wish that my boy would stop waking up so early.  But I drag myself out of bed, get my masculine diaper bag ready, scrape up some change and then lead my son on a simple outing.  A regular moment but in this time I become his hero (and my wife loves the alone time).