Sometimes Parenting is a Train Wreck

We took a short ride on the city train yesterday just to have something to do on one of our last days of summer vacation.

What I didn’t bargain for was that after we messed around the park and shops near where we got off the train, when we returned to the train station, the attendant told us that there had been an accident and the trains were shut down until further notice.

She said it sometimes took three to four hours to get the trains up and running again in such situations. Upon receiving the news, my life flashed before my eyes.

It was a million degrees outside and I was stranded with three children like ten miles from our car! 

Walking was out of the question seeing as how the four-year-old had already made me carry him around the smallish park. As was any type of ride share or taxi (no car seat). All that was left was to sit and roast in the August heat.

Luckily, the kids had picked up a couple sticks somewhere along the way so they could pass the time fighting to the death over them. 

When we sat down, a man sitting by the train station asked if they were all my kids. 

I told him yes, but I was currently accepting offers.

He didn’t make an offer.

So, I was still stuck with three kids and just a cooler bag of mushy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Thankfully, a train arrived about an hour later instead of three or four. One hour was more than enough to make the icy cold air conditioning on the train feel a little extra magical.

Plus, I managed to drop the sticks on the platform without any of the kids noticing.

Dad level: Expert.

Parenting can be such a train wreck.


If you love this post, I have some good news. My book, Fatherhood: Dispatches From the Early Years, is available at Amazon.