For a reasonable $6.01 (one adult fare, one child fare, one soft drink for dad, one chocolate milk for Ruby) a world of experiences awaits us on the TTC.
I picked Ruby up from camp ready to head out on the rails. Offering Ruby a streetcar ride is equivalent to offering her trip to the moon – she is completely enchanted by the experience. It is, in fact, unwise to mention the word streetcar in her presence if you have no intention of taking her on one. Armed with pretzels in one container and grapes in another, as well as water bottles for both children, I asked her if she was interested in a streetcar ride the moment I arrived at camp. She did not hesitate and we had a very pleasant walk to the streetcar stop where we first started getting into the snacks.
I confess that the trip was somewhat selfishly motivated. I needed to head over to Yonge Street in order to pick up a few small items at Circuit city for my new digital TV antenna. More on that later. With 90 minutes to kill before naptime though it seemed like a good plan.
The streetcar ride to Yonge was uneventful. After getting on the street cae Ruby immediately walked straight to the back-her preferred area for seating and mine as well as there’s room back there for the stroller. She enjoyed the trip looking at the window, commenting on everything that she saw, and asking tons of questions. Especially about the construction worker she was sitting next to and what was inside his lunch cooler. On our way into the station she asked if we would be going on the subway. The original intent of my errand was not take them on the subway at all but it didn’t seem like a bad suggestion at the time. I told her I wasn’t sure, and she pressed me for an answer. I stalled, wanting to see how long Arden would last. As we walked back to the subway station post-errand to get back on the streetcar she renewed her efforts at persuading me that a subway ride was something that would be fun. I love subways, she says. I love tunnels, she implores. How could I say no?
We grabbed a chocolate milk and took the elevator, another favorite part of any subway journey, down to the platform. Once again we had the discussion about not standing too close to the edge of the platform and what the yellow safety floor tread means. And, as usual, she derived a tremendous amount of pleasure from watching the train station.
Although the streetcar is certainly fun, in my mind, the subway is where the real action is on the TTC. Especially when you have two little redheaded kids that you’re traveling with. It is almost like walking around with celebrities. I find that, in these situations, the baby is the real charmer. No surprise there I guess, she is pretty cute. Shortly after we got on the subway, a middle-aged man sat down in the seat that was facing Arden’s stroller. He immediately started making faces at her and she at him. She is a bit of a flirt. I should say, at this point, that I’ve been trying to teach Arden a few simple hand gestures for several weeks now. Waving, for example, and the American sign language signs for more, please, and, all done, as well as milk. To date, I have not had any luck. The stranger who sat down next to Arden seemed to have a bit of a breakthrough with her though and she very clearly imitated two or three different hand gestures that he was making to her. This made my head spin a little bit. I’ve been trying to make this happen in a number of different circumstances lately and all of a sudden some guy she’s never met before sits down next to her, smiles at her, and the next thing you know she’s doing what he’s doing. Mystifying. I tried to reassure myself, in the moment, that I have been laying the groundwork for this breakthrough for weeks now. The gentleman engaged with Arden suggested that it was all about the eye contact. And he is probably right – but it isn’t as though I haven’t been making eye contact with her. Anyway, I’m not going to read too much into it-she’s on the right track and I’m thankful for this. More sign language ahead.
Partway through the ride Ruby got a little antsy, and I combated this with an exhaustive game of eye spy – which she loves – but the only colors she accurately identifies are orange and purple so the game can get a little tedious. We also played a family favorite, “I’m thinking of…” a game where one person gets a clue about something they’re thinking of for example, I’m thinking of something cold, and everybody else tries to guess what it is. Charlotte is at the point where she has learned to ask deductive questions to narrow in on the answer. Ruby still uses a bit of a shotgun approach. This got us back to the St. Clair West station and almost back on the streetcar. But not quite. The St. Clair West subway station has a platform above the trains that allows you to watch the trains going in and out of the station. Of course it is fascinating to view them. Especially if the crack between the railing and the barrier is exactly how your eye level. Too bad that surface was covered in Subway filth. I hadn’t needed the diaper bag up until this point of our journey but I may have left a few wipes behind at the station. The remainder of our trip was uneventful, until Ruby heard Arlington Avenue called on the PA system. She knows her stop and so she sprung up to walk to the streetcar doors. As the streetcar came to a stop and I made my way down the steps I quickly realized that Ruby was not with me. I have thought about this scenario many times before. The streetcar doors closing, me sprinting down St. Clair Avenue to the next stop to retrieve my child. The shameful looks from the passengers. Thankfully, it has never come to that. In fact, just about everyone we cross paths with on the streetcar and the subway is incredibly helpful doing such things as assisting me down the steps with the stroller or giving up their seat so that Ruby and sit down and look at the window. And today was no exception. A stranger had my back. Normally Ruby is down the steps right after me. But she seemed to have a bit of a breakthrough on her own today. She realized that the doors at the back of the streetcar are only activated when someone steps down on the step and she decided that she would make this happen for herself instead of staying close with me and letting me open the doors. Just as I was getting down off the last step onto the street and looking back and reaching out to get the person who was supposed to be following on my heels I saw her at the top of the steps and heard the all-too-familiar phrase these days “I’ll do it myself”. This did not seem like a good plan to me. I’m not sure that the pressure sensors on the TTC streetcars are calibrated for 30 pound almost three-year-olds and so I reached back into the street car and lifted her down as there was someone else waiting behind her. She was… Displeased – and this is evidenced by the scrape she inflicted on herself when she threw herself to the ground in complete displeasure with her father after not being allowed to walk down the street car steps on her own. Outburst. Thankfully the fact that she needed to pee distracted her and we made it home without any further injuries.
All in all it was a great adventure. Only one minor injury. A couple of developmental advances. Some grime. And two kids more than ready for naps when they got home.
3 Ginger Snaps 