Outside Upside

There are downsides to living just outside the city. Like when you have only one car, which your husband needs to get to work at 4am, and you are not close enough to anything to walk there. Or metro there. And so you have to take a bus. And the internet says that your bus stop is at the end of a cul de sac, and you get there and see your bus coming and feel very self-satisfied that you, your two large bags, and the child strapped to your body are actually there on time, until the bus stops at the corner, lets off some passengers, and then- paying no heed to the flailing, mule-loaded crazy lady yelling "wait!" as the jostled child's hat flies off in a gust of wind- shuts it's cold-hearted doors and moves on. Like today.
BUT- there are upsides to the suburban life! One of which is having a yard. In which the doggies can play, and also relieve themselves even in inclement weather without my having to step outside. In which to eat dinners when the weather is actually nice and there are fireflies providing the mood lighting. And in which to have a garden.
Since spring looks like it is finally springing, J and I decided to start taking advantage of this particular outer-metropolitan benefit, so we took Little One on a field trip to the local greenhouse and nursery. While it looked nothing like the kind of nursery Little One is used to, She decided it was an altogether fun and exciting place, with lots of things to see and smell, and touch when the employees weren't looking. And the garden is looking good!
Outer-city living may include Little One's getting Her brain sloshed around while Her vehicle chases after another vehicle, and being a parent might mean not being able to run as fast or get anywhere on time. But both of those lifestyles have their perks, too. Including the joy of having beautiful things, and watching them grow.