The Subway

I recently took a trip to Boston with the kids to visit The New England Aquarium. We decided to take the train into the city and Eliza and Henry really enjoyed that. A really nice tip is to pay the extra $8.00 per ticket to upgrade to Amtrak business class. This allows more room and it's own bathroom as well as easy access to the food concierge . When we arrived in North Station I had to make a decision about how to get over to the Aquarium. Taxi or Subway. It had been years since I had been on the subway but had known it well in my early years and thought the kids would love it. I had been sure to wear a backpack so my hands were free to hold onto Eliza and Henry. Henry is a highly energetic 5 year old that I could lose in a moment and Eliza is a child that requires one to one assistance for safety reasons. As the years progress she seems to get quicker and quicker and I have had more than one heart stopping occasion of losing site of her for a moment. We entered the subway and the kids eyes were as big as saucers , it was awesome!! The people, the smells, the sounds and the energy were so new to them and they took it all in. I found my grip on them getting firmer and firmer and I had wondered if I was cutting off the circulation to their beautiful little hands. I realized that things were different in the subways now when I went to put my money in for tokens. There were ATM looking machines everywhere and I was not sure what I needed to do. Knowing that I could not let go of either child, I proceeded to walk over to the security window and swung my leg up in the air and knocked on the glass with my foot, quite an image, I know. Good thing we didn't all fall over. Anyway, a very nice women came out and walked me through the procedure and away we went. As we stood waiting for the T to arrive I watched the kids reactions to the new things that they were experiencing. The saxophone player, the homeless man fast asleep in the corner, the lover's displaying their affections for each other. I was so delighted that Henry did not choose at that moment to ask me the why's of everyone's behaviors and instead just sat and took it all in. Finally, the train arrived and we hoped in and away we went and I felt such success in giving my kids a new experience that ultimately turned out to be their favorite part of our trip to Boston.