Moving to Seattle: The good and the bad

All cities are different. In Baltimore, we've gotten to know the kid's circuit. Warm days are spent at decent playgrounds, the zoo, traveling to DC or just playing in the backyard; those days are easy. It's always the rainy or cold days that present more of a challenge. Fortunately, as parents (who are about to pull their hair out if they have to spend one more minute in the house with a fussy toddler!), we've learned about the popular places to take kids when weather is bad: Maryland Science Center, Art Museums, which are free in Baltimore and always have at least one kid-activity in progress, and my favorite - the libraries. Baltimore city and county have awesome libraries for kids and adults. For toddlers, they are literally indoor playgrounds. The flagship is the Rosedale library. With its toddler city that includes a grocery store, fishing port, construction zone, house complete with kitchen and upstairs bedrooms, infant garden, theater, library, and post office, the libraries are wonderful places to spend a rainy day. This is not the case in Seattle.

This morning we went to the Greenwood library. It was open this morning. Being open is not insignificant; there are many Seattle libraries that are not open in the mornings, on Fridays, or on Sundays. Huh? Yeah - that's what I thought a couple of weeks ago when I drove to THREE different libraries on Friday only to find out that they were all closed on Fridays. Once inside the library, there's always a children's section. I only know it's the children's section because the reading tables and chairs are shorter than the ones in the adults departments. If you're lucky you might find a toy or two in the kids section. Our pediatrician's waiting room is more fun for the kids than Seattle's libraries. The Greenwood library's kids section is unique. Some architect had the brilliant idea of showcasing a 4' high by 12' diameter rock formation that protrudes through the front glass wall of the building. It is quite stunning when you first see it. However, on the inside of the building this giant rock with slippery 1.5' chiseled steps is located in the children's section. The architect or interior designer did NOT have children. I spent the entire time trying to keep both Genna and Jonah out of the ER with a concussion. The giant rock, with it's giant steps, was like a pool of water in the Sahara Desert for the kids. It's always a fun time to see my clumsy Jonah jumping up and down a slippery rock.

So, I quickly chose a few books and dragged the kids (of course whining) out of the library. As I was returning to the checkout because my "checked out" books were setting off book-theft alarm, there was a frantic mother with a toddler who had a face covered in blood. Poor little thing. I didn't even have to eavesdrop to find out what happened. I knew that the Frank Lloyd Wright-esque boulder had gotten the best of the little girl.

So, I think we'll continue going to community centers on rainy days. The Seattle libraries are not welcoming places for rambunctious little tykes, but what Seattle lacks in libraries, it does make up for in community centers. Thank goodness.