The joy and beauty of the Triplet Stroller

There is nothing better to me than a walk on a fall day, when the changing leaves on the trees filter the sunlight and the world around me glows orange. Walking this fall can truly happen now, thanks to a Craigslist find of:

                                                 

                                                    the Triple Jogging Stroller.

TA-DA!

Those three words together sound so ridiculous to me because who is actually going to jog pushing an ox cart of children?!

 It’s a wide load indeed; but a gem of a find, I must say because these contraptions cost in the upper $700+ for new one…we paid much much less and we got to have the exhilarating adventure of " the dark, back ally Craiglist exchange." If you've ever experienced this before, you know what I mean.

 It was a dark and rainy night when John and I put the kids to bed and bid good-bye to Amanda as we set forth to claim this treasure. We told Amanda to tell the kids we loved them if we never made it home. We got into our mini van and drove about 40 minutes-almost to airport-in the dark  rain, to an address that was texted to me earlier in the day. We pulled up to a home that was under construction on a quiet, little street.  

However, upon our arrival, three little images peered at us in footie pajamas through the front door window.The woman who answered her door almost had triplets of her own (twins and then another who was 13 months younger…) They had outgrown this fine piece of equipment, and needless to say, the mother was very excited to free up the space in her one car garage. After hoisting it into the back of our mini van, maneuvering  seats and car seats in order to make it fit, we paid her the cash, closed up the trunk and drove away with our treasure, safe and sound. 
I was a little too giddy, I admit. 
But since us two crazy young uns' were so close to downtown,  what better way to celebrate the new addition of yet another baby gadget into our cool home than go to a happy hour at a hip place downtown!?! 
I was very concerned about the safety of our triplet stroller in the back of our mini van; so, I reminded John to lock the door  in case someone walking by wanted to steal it. He assured me that it was locked, but we probably didn’t need to worry about that in this part of town. A triple stroller in a mini van really wasn’t a hot commodity.

During the following week, I strapped those boys in their new carriage and walked them all over the neighborhood and the trails by the river. 

But wow, did I stop traffic…literally. Every car that drove by gawked at the sight of us. People actually stopped their cars in the middle of the street (thus backing up the flow of traffic) to roll down their windows and make comments. Per the usual, people openly expressed their amazement/concern/relief that is wasn’t them. I even had a group of dudes roll past,  and shout through their window, “**** girl! You been BUSY!”  

Wow, I’ve arrived to that stage in life. Back in my younger years dudes shouted very different things at me while driving by. 

Now they shout at my stroller. 

But I have all the men I need with my  wise and wonderful husband ( of almost 10 years!) and my three mini men-in-training. Caleb, Levi and James really like riding side-by-side. This is the very reason I wanted a stroller such as this rather than one that stacks them behind one another; they should all have a front row seat, and I wanted them to enjoy this ride next to their fellow bros. 

The boys are very happy riding around in it. They don’t make a peep but just look around at everything. Sometimes on our journey I’ll stop and pluck a leaf and give one to each of them to examine.  Evie is very interested in this new stroller too. In fact she climbed right in and strapped herself in the middle seat and ordered that one of the brothers ride in her single stroller. 

 Our garage is taken over by strolling devices. Every time I collect another one, I get a really excited feeling because I feel like I have a little more freedom. It could be an addiction. 


I’ll take anything that makes me feel less stuck and gives me more flexibility. I am really limited in the things and the activities I can do right now; I feel like I’ve lost myself in all this baby raising, and honestly I can get depressed and weary sometimes.   But John keeps reminding me that this is just a season in life.  Raising children is such a selfless endeavor..and it doesn't end, not even on Saturday mornings. I know, despite what I FEEL, in my heart, caring for all these precious, little humans is worth all the sacrifice and all my freedom. 
 So I guess in this season in life, I'll fully embrace the fact that freedom to me can be found on Craigslist in the form of a  triplet stroller. Bring it!