Walk to the beat

Today Will and Owen and I were all seat-belted in the car, ready to go to a performance by percussion band Ritmo Blu – part of the Wonderful Wednesdays program at the Columbus Museum. But then the car wouldn’t start and Will and I were feeling simultaneously bummed. I looked back at Will and said, “Well if you want to go in the stroller, we can probably make the 10:30 show.”

He was excited and Owen was ready to see some drums too. So we launched off on our cross-town adventure with the jogging stroller, and some snacks and water. Will and Owen stayed reasonably cool under the shade of the stroller awnings and I didn’t start sweating like a pig until the midday return trip in the humid 85-degree heat. All in all, though, we loved our adventure. We got to hear percussion instruments from around the world -- and Ritmo Blu, with headman Dave Holland, are great at making music accessible to kids. I don’t remember ever going to a show where performers were so effective at getting the audience to dance in our seats.

And I liked the excuse to go on a long hike with the double stroller, especially since Will was happy to climb out and hike behind me on the steep hill leading to Wynnton road. I have half a mind to petition the city to create a semi-pedestrian friendly crossing at that crazy triangular intersection where Buena Vista and Wynnton roads meet. But since I may never again motivate to walk to the museum once my car’s working, I probably won’t bother. Still, wouldn’t it be nice to make a great midtown kid’s spot like The Columbus Museum easily accessible by stroller?

Back at home, Will made some percussion instruments for Owen’s birthday while Owen napped. So far Will's painted an oatmeal container drum and a begun work on a rain stick. Here are some ideas for music instrument crafts: “A to Z Kids Stuff” and “Preschool Percussion” (I'd like to try to bottle cap xylophone here, but we need to collect some bottle caps first.)