The City

Going to the city a couple of times in the last few days made me realize how much I miss being there everyday. I worked in downtown San Francisco for five years and while there is no way I could do it now, I miss it. I miss the energy of San Francisco, the amazing walks I used to take every Friday, the neighborhoods, the food, the shopping...let's not forget the shopping.

The funny thing is I've started taking the kids into the city. We go to Giants game in the Spring and Summer. We meet friends in there for dinner whenever we can. During the winter, we go ice skating. La Nina has a dance convention in there around Thanksgiving and we make a long weekend of it. When you consider, field trips and other random events, we're probably in San Francisco 8-10 times a year.

I noticed today the girls are getting pretty city savvy. The girls ride BART like pros. Of course, La Nina can't stay awake for longer than 5 minutes on the train, but that's sort of just her nature. The girls are very clear on the purpose of cabs and they know sometimes it's really quickest to catch a cab at the nearest hotel. And most amusing, they even know some people ride cable cars just for the experience, but really cable cars are a great way to avoid the hills. On top of a hill, La Nina pointed out a cable car stop so we didn't have to walk down the hill. When got on the cable car, she whispered to me that the other people looked like they didn't go to San Francisco much because "they take pictures of everything."

Of course, they still have a lot to learn. They're good about crossing streets with the lights, but they still make me nervous. They know to avoid drunks and the homeless, and they just keep walking when a pan handler approaches us, but I wouldn't want them to navigate the street people by themselves. And forget bathrooms, La NIna blanched at a standard Chinatown bathroom today and it wasn't even bad. But at least she went. The Magster held it for hours to avoid the bathrooms. I'm still not sure how she did it.

It's funny how you end up exposing your kids to the things you enjoy, simply because they are things you don't want to give up just because you have kids. And somehow, the kids start enjoying them too. Of course, when the thing you enjoy is San Francisco, it does have a downside. By the time my kids are teens, they will be completely comfortable navigating the city without a car. That means in their young teens they'll be able to lead a group of wayward suburban youth into all kinds of trouble. My apologies now to all the parents of their friends.