A Walk with a Friend

Last week I met Catherine and Dylan when they came to our home to meet us while searching for an in-home nanny. While the position wasn't going to work out, I was thrilled to've found another mother in the neighborhood with a child not too much younger than Olive with whom to spend a little downtime. Catherine contacted me this morning to invite me out for a walk with her, Dylan, and their dog, Barley (Olive was duly pleased to have a "cat" along for the outing). I slathered Olive with sunscreen for the first time, fastened her sun hat under her chin, gave myself a liberal application of the SPF 30 and donned my own wide-brimmed hat, and off we went to meet our new friends. We strolled up to the park entrance then meandered on down to the child-friendly Farmhouse Park that has recycled rubber matting beneath the playground. Olive was far more interested in crawling through the tall grass (note to self: check for ticks!) but did take one trip down the largest of the slides before leaving. The plastic slide wasn't compatible with her rubber-soles shoes, so it was a leisurely ride for her, but she appeared to enjoy it nonetheless. Unfortunately I couldn't locate my camera today so the morning was not documented in pictures, but I know there will be many more like it to come. Oh, and did I mention that Catherine is British? Just listening to her is a joy in itself, and as a result I'm finding that I'm thinking with an accent. Funny how that works. She also lived in Baltimore when she first moved to the States, so there's that, too. What a pleasure it is to be living in such a wonderful place that is bursting with great people. What's the catch, Pittsburgh?