Ode to Bob

You are strong. You are fearless. In the eight months we have adventured overseas, you have without a doubt, are an essential element of our life. You make most (and would be all, if I had my way) of our expeditions possible. You are the reason we can walk 10 miles instead of five. You are integral to the comfort and well-being of your two passengers. You are the shelter from the rain, the repose weart legs, the magical spot to take a load off and put a snack in, and even a bed where both can fit in a pinch. Gone are your days of car trunk or garage life. Gone are your days of occasional adventures in the Smoky Mountains. Adventures are common place now. And you are not transported by vehicle to any one of them. Every step of every journey, you roll your intrepid way alongside us. You give us some semblance of independent adulthood where we are not limited by the erratic progress of easily distracted and wearied humans. You are an expat stroller now and excel at your task.

Your are our safety net, our home base, our extra arms, in short – you have easily transformed into our beloved family vehicle – complete with crumbs and toys and books and even groceries stashed in your capacious compartments. Without you, supermarket trips would be much less productive and much more stressful. Beyond the mundane, you have gone where few American strollers have gone before. The alps, castles, the woods – through rain, mud and snow, we have come to rely on your off trustworthy off-roading tires.

We are a team. You been carried up and down numerous flights of winding stairs, squeezed into miniature elevators, hustled up into questionable trams and down out of buses and daily perform masterful wheelies to enter the subway trains. You even accomodate us with the wheelie tilt back to make it up and down escalators in traveling emergencies. Together we are always better!

You creak now when heavily loaded, but I think you deserve it. We hear you, and we promise to keep your tires filled, your canvas cleaned, your loads strategic, and carry you over those stairs every time you need it. We couldn’t adventure without you!

Thanks, Bob.

Sincerely,

An expat family without a car.