Commuting in the City

For the longest time, our commute was the same thing five days a week: I walk the kids in the double stroller to school and walk to work from there, and then reverse the process on the way home. With Jada's transfer to another, further away school, the commute got a little more complex: I would do the same as before but with just Aaron in tow, and Amy would drop off and pick up Jada with our car.

This semester, with Amy taking a class in the late afternoon one day a week, and with Aaron going to "circle school" two days a week, we now have further complexity. Two days a week, Amy stays home with Aaron, makes sure he gets successfully picked up by bus to his "circle school," and is waiting for him at home when he is dropped off so she can spend the rest of the day with him. On those days, in the morning, I take Jada to school by bus and walk to work from her school; and in the evening, if Aaron is still napping or Amy is in a cooking groove, I will walk to Jada's school from work and we'll get home by bus.

The one day a week Amy has class, I typically take the car and both kids in the morning, dropping Jada off first and then stashing the car near Aaron's school, from which I can walk Aaron into school and then walk to work; in the evening, I reverse the process. And the other two days a week, it's business as usual: me and Aaron by foot to his school, and Amy and Jada by car to her school.

With the weather improving, throwing the bicycle into the mix might be a possibility, especially given how much of a treat it is for the kids. And, this coming fall, Jada will be starting kindergarten two blocks from our house and going to an after-school program on the same campus; while Aaron will be transferred to where Jada is currently going to school. Who knows what Amy's schedule will be, given the possibility she may get a job; but once that's figured out, we'll have a new commuter schedule to figure out.