The Special Other Way

For some time, we have been meaning to report, that we now have a new way to go home from school. Previously, once we reached the intersection nearest our neighborhood (Minnetonka and Ottawa for the familiar), Julie and Joe would take turns selecting between going the "normal way," and going the "other way," with Julie vastly preferring the normal way, and Joe always preferring the other way.* One day, Julie and Joe were talking about something else, and absent Joe's usual prompt regarding whose turn it was, Julie blithely went the normal way. She'd no more committed than Joe asked if it was his turn and asked if we were going the other way. Julie quickly replied that they were not. Instead, they were going the "special other way." Ha ha! The special other way entails beginning the normal way and then selecting a random scenic route through the neighborhood. It is now our standard way to go, and seems to be the preferred way by all those who have a vote in the matter--i.e. Julie and Joe. What will Bird prefer, we wonder. Ted seems happy to go with the flow.

The point is this: in mulling all this over while driving back and forth across the river the past few days, it occurred to Julie that this whole parenting thing is a lot to do with improvising, trying a new tack, and going the special other way now and again, as you make your way back home.

*When going the normal way, one proceeds through the intersection to 29th, hangs a louie (as we say), and then another louie on Raleigh. When going the other way, one hangs a louie on Minnetonka and then a right on Raleigh. Going this way allows Joe to say hello to Dr. Harrington (her office anyway).