I sold my double stroller on Craig’s List over the weekend. It’s hard to explain the freedom I feel about this particular milestone. It’s been a long time coming – I’ve kept it around for the occasion big outing but finally I decided it was time for us to part ways. I’ve been schlepping a double stroller around for six years now –six years of pulling that monster in and out of my trunk. Six years of not fitting through doorways . . . of strategizing stairwells . . . of retrieving objects thrown or dropped from the children, of forcing the two walking children to hold on to a side while crossing the street, of stuffing a diaper bag under the seats, of strapping arched backs into the restraints, of cleaning Goldfish out of the crevices, of tipping the entire rig when kids exit before I’ve pulled off a heavy bag, of leaning against it as I walk the mile back to the car from the Disney exit, of having two preschoolers fight over the second seat, of stacking three kids into a double stroller in desperate moments . . . six years of this thing as a very present accessory in our family. And you know what? GOOD RIDDANCE. I hated that thing. 
There is just no dignity when you are pushing a double stroller. The kind gestures and open doors you get when you are pregnant? Those completely disappear when you are trying to squeeze this monstrosity through a swinging door, with two other children in tow. I always felt as though I could exchange that thing for a shopping cart of my belongings in trashbags and the level of disdain from the general public would be about the same. The world is not kind to the double stroller dependent. Being untethered from this thing feels like a new level of freedom. I’m walking a little taller now. Literally. 
There are many milestones in this parenting gig that have been bittersweet. I bawled when I packed up Karis’s newborn clothes. I was devastated at the end of our nursing relationship. But there is no love lost for the stroller. And I’m guessing I’m going to feel the same way about diapers. Now, if I can just figure out how to offload this minivan . . .
