Because we’re apparently experts now, we managed our second outing as a family of five (I’m not tired of saying that yet) in our first month. It’s officially fall here, so we went apple picking!
Apple picking isn’t something I did growing up, and to be honest isn’t my first choice in activity now. If I want apples, I’m fine getting them from the grocery store. However, it’s not all about the apples.
We’ve managed to make it way more interesting by turning it into an annual tradition (so far anyway!) of going with our best friends, and by incorporating fun extras - playgrounds, donuts, petting zoo, etc all make it one of our favorite weekends. And, can you even live in New England these days and not go apple picking in the fall? The internet tells me it’s mandatory.
That being said, I could have argued for skipping this year. I did just give birth - something I used as an excuse not to do daycare pickup for three weeks, so it’s definitely an excuse not to go apple picking. But then E started asking about it - he remembered that we went last year and he was super excited to go again. And honestly, so was I! Again - it’s not about the apples. I wanted to see our friends and make memories, so that’s what we did.
Plus as third time parents, we’re way more confident. We can pack a diaper bag in less than a minute as we’re walking out the door. I can change a dirty diaper on a tree stump without blinking. My anxiety which has popped up after every baby is also wayyy less this time around. Except for the occasional check to make sure she’s still breathing (is there a mom that doesn’t do this?), I’m feeling pretty calm. So we went, and I’m so glad we did.
The kids had so much fun, and after staying home for so long with this pandemic, I love every chance we get to participate in a safe activity. We’ll be taking advantage of every outdoor thing we can while the weather stays warmish. So E carried the bag around and filled it with apples while G spent his time happily eating them. They ran and played with their friends and found pirates everywhere we went (apparently theme weekends is a thing now), and when we got home all three of them took amazing and long naps.
