I live by three parks. One of them is named Fellger Park. This seems to be the cool hip spot for parents on the Northside of Chicago to bring their children... children under eight. I have seen people drive up, park on the street, pull out their stroller, strap the kid(s) in, and walk twenty feet into the park. And not any stroller will do... it must be the Bugaboo. This is the Northside park to be seen. It's where to show off your kid, what your kid is wearing, and chat with your lady friends about what car you should buy since your Mercedes is getting old (2 years) and your husband should make more money. If your lady friends cannot make it that means you just need to play with your iPhone and ignore your kid.
How do Miles and I fit in? We don't. We try to avoid this park since it tends to be over crowded and the people are not very nice to us. We don't have a Bugaboo. We don't have our group of lady friends. We don't want to hang out. We just want to spend some time on the swing and do a little crawling around. We get the snotty stares. We've been told that it's surprising Miles is not walking yet (and how many 8 month babies do, and even if he was 16 months is it any business of yours?).
Miles and I tend to only go in the early morning when the park is empty. This morning's trip actually had a nice encounter with another dad and his daughter. They actually spoke to us. They actually were having fun. It was a nice surprise. Then they left and the regulars came in and soon Miles and I went home.
