Thursday, March 27, 2008

the fine art of securing a parking spot

i've been fighting a cold all week. yesterday was the first day i began to feel like myself. so the kids and i packed a lunch and headed to the denver zoo. the traffic started slowing down about a mile from the zoo. i couldn't figure out what was happening, but surely, it couldn't be the zoo park lot was causing that slow down. i took a different route and got to the parking lot much faster than those suckers waiting on colorado blvd. and then began the search. we drove and we drove and we drove and we drove. we drove behind the zoo, to the natural history museum, through the zoo parking lot. and had i not been planning on meeting heather and rle for lunch, i would have given up. it was fun to discuss the whole event with the kids, explaining to them the etiquette of parking lots. i think had i had whiny 4 and 7 year olds in the car, it would have been much different. but a 13 and 10 year old are much more interested in the process. we'd talk to people in the nicest of ways, encouraging them to leave soon. we'd find a spot, only to notice that someone else had been waiting. how did we know this? it's all a part of the fine art i told the kids... you have to be observant and yet polite. there was this one row of parking i kept getting a good vibe about and told the kids to watch that row. sure enough, we were the only ones on that particular row and HOUR later and we saw the leaving party. i rejoiced, gave them the universal sign for "are you leaving?" got the universal sign for "yes, would you like our spot?" gave back the universal sign for "HECK YES!" and patiently parked my patootie there to wait. we evil eyed a few others who felt they might have come upon a lucky parking spot, we talked about how you have to position yourself to show you are in charge of that spot. we waited and waited whilst the stroller got loaded, the kids buckled in, and then the blessed moment came. a tiny little corvette saw the backup lights and turned the corner quickly, but the leave-ee was watching out for me and made sure she was between me and the corvette and voila, i was in! oh my, what a process. but we made it and my kids learned a lot. and i was really quite nice.

then we only got to see about a hours worth of zoo. sad. but now my kids know how to get a parking spot in a humane manner. and that's really an important skill to have in life. javascript:void(0)

and i leave you with a layout i did for the HMITM challenge and the Pub Ad Inspiration. ethan loves it, thinks the rub ons are very clever :)


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

yep. I thought maybe you had turned around, gone home and caught the bus. the zoo was... well, it was a ZOO.

does mr ethan know that salsa is a dance too?

vcuejflb,
ducky

Houston said...

Ah yes, the fine art of parking in a crowded lot. I am sure that it is much easier to discuss with older children and I am glad to know that when they are driving in a few years they will know the laws of the lot:)

Anonymous said...

HA! a good thing you taught them, this evil art can make me crazy at times. glad you guys enjoyed the zoo too! hugs, rachel

Vivian Masket said...

Oh my! I would have given up! (And next time that happens, you are welcome to come to my house and ask me to drop you off and pick you up and leave your car at my house in between. :))I am very glad I followed my instinct and decided to have Eli's playdate at home today instead of battling a public venue during spring break week!

Love the layout! Those pics are fabulous - love that you get to see the whole list of ingredients! Those little punches of paper are cute, cute, cute! (That is what those are, right?)

Heather Harrell Photography said...

:-) The LO makes me smile. I'm glad you guys finally made it into the zoo. Was sad that it was for such a short time. We'll do it more in the summer. :-)

Ranger and Tanner said...

a very important lesson indeed, i always repeat good parking karma over and over before entering such a place. SOunds like Viv's got a great plan too.

Candice said...

You crack me up. Way to utilize the bad day :p. & cute LO!

Kendra said...

Did you stick your tongue out at the driver of the Corvette? When your kids weren't looking, of course. JK! I try really hard to be a patient parking-spot-seeker for my kids too but it sounds like you're more patient than I am. I'll remember this post next time I'm looking!!!

Kendra said...

Forgot the layout! Love it, as I always love your layouts. I'm a recent convert of wallet size photos. : )

Tara Whalen said...

Love your lo!

Your patience is amazing. I, too, try to teach with everyday moments, but with that much time in a parking lot, I probably would have gone home. =)

Amanda said...

Wow. I think I may have turned around and headed home. ;) Glad you were able to turn it into a learning thing and that you had fun! Love the layout, too! What a fun idea to teach how to make salsa (wanna teach me?)!

Unknown said...

Love this post, it is truly an art, and one that more people need to learn!
Love the layout too, I love salsa, and never think to make it at home...
Now maybe if I made a layout about it we would, LOL!
B-

Mary Kay said...

I cannot think of another soul who could turn an hour-long parking-space hunt into a positive. You are a stellar, shining soul. (And that makes Ethan & Annie lucky, indeed.)

Love the LO, too-- mmmm... salsa!