Tuesday, March 03, 2009

The Great Stroller Chase

Right before Lucy joined our family, we received a lightweight stroller from a friend for free, and we were very thankful. I also have coveted one of those cool Jeep Strollers that has the steering wheel on it since when the little boys were born, but because there were two of them it just wasn't possible. So, I hunted one up on Craigslist and we were good to go - or so I thought. I have been using the big heavy Jeep stroller (it's almost a jogger but not really) because the strap on the lightweight stroller was so hard to undo that Tom wasn't able to get it unhooked. So he took a file to it and fixed that problem, and all was well again. But the first time I used it I ran into walls, took corners so badly the police came after me (and we were INSIDE the elementary school), and poor Lucy was jarred around so much that she even protested the stroller too. Seems that the way it was built was not conducive to a smooth ride, or even a slightly unbumpy ride - and that's on a flat surface like linoleum.

So our free stroller suddenly is a little less attractive (well, a LOT less for me but still holds something in Tom's mind - the free part is still there), and we are not on the hunt for a replacement stroller. But I can't just go out and BUY a new stroller - not after this score on the Jeep ($50 for a $120 stroller) and getting this little one for free. Oh, no, that's not true. I found the stroller I want, and I found it for a reasonable price (don't read that as good - it's just not free), and I'm getting it. But I still feel slightly guilty about the whole free stroller thing, so I'm going to pass it along, as it was passed along to me - for no cost. Maybe someone who isn't as picky as me will make good use of it. There's nothing wrong with the stroller itself - lots of folks have them, but I'm just a picky stroller mom I guess. So, I'm sending this stroller on to a better home. And over the next few days I need to decide if I want to pay $10 more for the cute animal print that is less likely to show dirt, or just to take one for the team and get the plain green and black version that I'm not particularly fond of (but costs $10 less). Sigh...big life decisions...

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