Running mommy

Stockholm Subway: We live by Mariatorget (red line), work by
Kista (blue line) and Zoe's daycare is by Stadshagen (blue line)

If you see a woman running in the subway, to the train, between the trains and up again, that would be me. As I have talked about before, Zoe has a wonderful daycare but one that is now two times three subway stations away, which includes a quite long walk between trains at the central station, not to mention the several escalator/elevator rides down and up. Door to door it is half an hour, with a toddler in tow it is more like 40 minutes from the first attempt to put her snowsuit on, until she has her "home shoes" on (a Scandinavian must). The only good part about this setup (apart from the wonderful daycare with great staff) is that it is sort of on the way to work, meaning if we take the 'long' way to work, it is by one of the stations where the train stops (and of course Mark and I are lucky to work in the same building right now). But it still annoys me that I have to spend so much time in transport. Yesterday, for example I got my hair done at a boutique salon near home, which at the time of booking seemed like a good idea, but it turned out Mark had late meetings and I had to pick up Zoe. I have perfected the technique of the home-to-daycare journey from knowing exactly what train I can catch when I see the information board upstairs and I know exactly how fast I have to run between the two platforms to catch which train. I also know exactly which end of the train I need to be in and I even know which car, which door to get in the morning so I can go straight into the elevator with Zoe in the stroller without having to walk on the crowded platform. I get incredible annoyed when perfectly capable people take the elevator up from the platform, filling it up so I have to wait with Zoe in the stroller and I have no problem pushing my way through the long rolling pavement that separates the two platforms I have to change between on the central station. As a mom you suddenly realize how precious time is and daytime is extremely valuable to me. If I am not working I want to spend time with Zoe, not in the subway (and I particularly don't want to spend time in the subway with Zoe). So I guess that is why I run.