My kids are so badass

It should have been pure misery on our ride to school today. 40°F and the kind of fine misty rain that penetrates every zipper and cuff. The promise of cocoa at school kept everyone focused; we started talking about Thanksgiving (what’s your favorite Thanksgiving food?) which led the kids to remember all the kinds of things Grandpa Vern liked to cook. (For certain definitions of “cook” — their consensus was his best “dish” was limeade. For my part I really miss his bannock bread this time of year.)

We made it to school in record time (40min) and did indeed have cocoa!

These kids are so badass. There’s no way I’d have done this when I was five years old without a LOT of whining.

Postscript

On the last really awful day (Monday?) we were talking with another Bike Dad in the hall while the kiddos changed out of their raingear. Other Bike Dad had driven his crew to school that day — no shame in that, it was dumping buckets.

Then he said “I didn’t want to subject my kids to this rain.”

Orion and I were genuinely confused. I don’t generally think of riding to school as something we HAVE to do but something we GET to do. I asked Orion “would you have rather taken the car?”

He said “No, that takes too long.” (!) (In reality it takes about half the time.)

We eventually agreed that we had some really miserable mornings when he was in Kindergarten but once we bought the right rain pants and gloves that was the end of it.