Mom Talk: Here’s One Way to Get ‘Em ‘All Aboard’

It was week three of trying to entice my oldest son to come shopping for a new pair of school sneakers. At the rate he has been growing lately, I actually needed his foot with me this time.

You’d think I was asking my son to lick a garbage can or eat Brussels sprouts. For some reason, he was reluctant to go shopping for new shoes. The white athletic shoes he was wrestling his size 12 foot into were 11s, riddled with holes and dotted with black-top skids. The laces were frayed and half-knotted. It was definitely time for some new kicks.

It was a Sunday morning and the shoes were at the top spot on my weekend “To Do” list. Nothing was going to sway my determination. Not even the gorgeous day that had sprung up amidst the blustery, rain-soaked days we had been having earlier in the week.

Just as I had gotten Connor onboard with the shoe-shopping chore, my husband suggested that we take a train ride. The excitement in my house had come so swiftly, before I could say anything, the kids were jumping up and down with enthusiasm about the possibility of hopping aboard the train. I was taken aback with his suggestion, as my resolve for shoe shopping mounted.

But then it dawned on me -- what an idea! Take the train… All of a sudden my mind was flooded with possibilities. We could go to Stride Rite on Burlingame Avenue, Manny’s Children’s Shoes in Menlo Park, Ten Toes in San Carlos, Howards at Stanford, … wow, this shoe shopping adventure was really taking shape. I even got ahead of myself and offered taking the train to the end of the line at Fourth and King streets, hopping on Muni and heading to Westfield Centre for some “city” shoes… then my mother-of-three reasoning skills kicked in and we settled for Nordstrom at Hillsdale, a two-stop trip to a familiar zone where I knew we could succeed in our mission.

A quick online check of the weekend Caltrain schedule and we were off. We walked up the ramp to wait for the train and saw that we weren’t the only family to have this great idea. There were children everywhere. I likened the site to the magical moment in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy lands in Munchkin Land. There were kids with moms and dads, grandma and grandpa. All children were excited at the oncoming trains, waving at the conductors (who wave back), giggles, smiles and excitement abound.

Onboard was equally as exciting -- there was the responsibility of being quiet on the train, the curious stares at other commuters, seeing familiar spots go by at light speed, racing cars on the city streets – the entire ride brought about fresh insight from the kids and the newness of it all (even though they have ridden the train before) was enjoyable for the kids and parents alike.

The train left at 10:45 a.m. from San Carlos and by 10:51 a.m. we were at our stop. A short ride, but perfect for the short attention span of our 2-year-old. The entire transit cost just $7, as kids under 4 travel free on Caltrain.

As we walked to the mall, across busy El Camino Real in San Mateo, I felt a sense of freedom. Strangely, it was a new and different experience for me too. While crossing the congested street, with a death grip on the wrists of my two younger children, I saw many a moms in their SUVs running the same stinky-shoe errand I intended to accomplish before the train idea came to mind. The train brought forth a new spin on the errand entirely, it was all about the train.

The exhilaration of the ride relieved any reluctance on the part of my son. He popped that left foot down on the silver foot measure inside Nordstrom and instantly chose a pair of black Velcro Pumas. The sneakers were on his feet within five minutes and we were off to tackle to rest of our mall to-dos. (The list had grown as I had idle time to think on the train).

As we walked across El Camino to board the train home, our bellies full from a rather unhealthy hodgepodge of Food Court samplings, I could see Connor staring down at his new shoes. He was probably trying to kick a rock or step in a puddle, but at that moment I saw if differently. He had new shoes on and walked through a new and exciting experience in life … and my weekend “To Do” list was complete – a very rare experience for me as well.