A Week in the Life of a Suburban Mom

For Thanksgiving this year, my family and I traveled across the country from NY to LA.  Now, while LA might not seem very suburban to some of you, to a Manhattan-ite, it certainly felt that way!  The main difference being the mode of transport: the car. My dear friends let us borrow their car for the week, which was actually a convertible BMW (how perfect for LA!).  They even had an extra car seat for us to use. Knowing that we were going to have to be driving a lot (our friends and family live all over the "greater" LA area), we were more than grateful for these acts of kindness.

The adventure started off poorly, as my dear two-year old threw up on the way to and from the airport. The first time in the car service, and the second time in my friend’s other car, the one we were not planning on borrowing. Thankfully, both drivers were parents and were more than understanding. But this did not bode well for a week of driving.

We got in the car the next day, prepared with the old car seat, a bib with a catch, a roll of paper towels and wipes. My son seemed to like the car, and insisted on “mommy drive” vs. “daddy drive.” Daddy has been regulated to stroller duty (“daddy push”). Amazingly, there was no puke! It was as if being prepared was all we needed to avoid a disaster (like having an umbrella when it looks like rain so that it doesn’t rain). He did not puke on day one, or for the next 9 days we drove around LA.

However, my initial concern regarding carsickness was quickly replaced by other car-related challenges.  My adventures illuminated some things for me that I want to give my suburban mom counterparts kudos for:

It’s really hard to continue to get your kid in and out of the car seat – especially if you have a multiple-errand day. And even more so if you’re 7 months pregnant. My back still hurts.

It’s really hard to entertain your kid in the backseat of a car while driving in rush hour traffic with a stick shift. When the dinosaur hits the ground, he stays there. It does not make for a happy child.

Kids like to fall asleep in car seats – making the aforementioned errand running with kids next to impossible. In the city, we can run lots of errands while our kids nap in the stroller (actually, we PREFER the kid to be asleep). But in the burbs, trying to get a sleeping child in and out of the car seat while still sleeping is the stuff of miracle workers. Which brings me to my forth point:

No one seems to run errands with their kids. There I was, at Trader Joes, at Target, at the car wash. I was the ONLY one with a 2-year old in the stroller, trying to get my stuff done. How is this true? Do you all do your errands on the weekends while your spouse watches the kids? Is the babysitter or nanny at home with them? Do you not go out? I was baffled and tired.

For some reason I always thought how “easy” it would be if I had a car and could just drive from place to place with my child, vs. pushing the stroller or hopping on the subway. But know I realize that not only is it not easier, it is potentially harder! All I have to do is walk out the door and I’m on my way. I give you suburban moms lots of props.

And of course, to emphasize my point, on the last day of our vacation, our last time in the car, my dear son threw up his entire breakfast. Three times.

This is an original NYC Moms Blog Post. Rebecca is a NYC-based personal life coach, change management consultant, actress and mom.