I have loved Biscuit's stroller since the day we got it. All except for one small detail. I can't get the @#$% thing to open and close.
Jeff picked out our stroller. I told him I didn't have a preference, as long as it would be comfortable for Biscuit and had a place for the diaper bag. The stroller or should I say "travel system" that Jeff picked out is a three-wheeled jogging stroller. And let me stop right here and say that our purchase of said stroller has nothing to do with the hope of an exercise plan. We won't be doing any jogging with this stroller unless we're out for a walk and it starts to rain!
Jeff picked this stroller because it has real tires instead of plastic wheels. And because it's a travel system, it came with an infant car seat. The car seat fastens onto the top of the stroller facing backward. Then when the baby is big enough to sit up, he can sit in the stroller seat facing forward.
Once this stroller is up and running, I love it. It handles well. It's very comfortable for Biscuit. It has a big storage basket on the bottom. And it even has a couple of cup holders. (Something I made fun of in the store but have used every single time I've pushed the stroller!)
But it's gotten to the point, over the past few weeks, that I find myself looking for ways not to use the stroller. And that's very unfortunate because like I said, it's a great stroller.
My parents came up this weekend, and Mama and I wanted to go into Kohl's. Kohl's doesn't have buggies, so unless I wanted to carry Biscuit all over the store, I had to get the stroller out. I was dreading it, but I figured Mama would be there to help me get it set up and put down.
I hauled the stroller out of the trunk and got it set up with almost no drama. Biscuit was asleep, so I left him in his car seat, snapped him onto the top of the stroller and away we went. It was so easy getting around inside the store. I had two free hands to look at things, and when I got ready to go to the dressing room, I just wheeled the stroller right in. No problem. I was remembering why I loved the stroller so much.
But when we got back to the car, I remembered why I hated the stroller so much. I tried in vain to break down the @#$% stroller for about 10 minutes. Now, 10 minutes might not sound like a long time, but you try sliding a lever with your thumb and squeezing a long bar with your other fingers while jerking a big stroller into a folded position for 10 minutes. The back of your neck would be sweating just like mine was. Also, add in some words that you never want your son to hear much less say and throw in a few angry tears. That about sums it up.
I called Jeff, who was driving my Daddy around in the Barracuda with the top down. I told him that I hated to ruin his leisurely cruise, but I was in the Kohl's parking lot out on Wendover and I couldn't get the @#$% stroller in the trunk. And the thing is too big to fit in the car without being collapsed. He said they would swing around and head our way.
In the meantime, Mama said, "Where did you get the stroller?" I told her Babies R Us. She said, "That's in this shopping center, isn't it?" I told her it was at the other end, past Target.
I had Biscuit in the car by this point. So Mama kicked the brake off and started pushing the stroller away. I said, "What are you doing?" She said, "I'm pushing it to Babies R Us so they can fold it up and put it in the trunk."
She had quite a walk. She had to pass the old Linens N Things store, Pier 1 and Target, and I guess she didn't think about how it would look for her to push an empty stroller around. This one woman asked her how she was doing. Mama said, "Fine. How are you?" The woman said, "I'm fine. God bless you." But Mama said the woman said the "God bless you" part like she was talking to somebody who had lost her marbles. Mama always walks with a purpose, so I guess it did look pretty funny.
As she was walking into Babies R Us, and I had already pulled into a parking spot. I was pretty upset, so I just sat in the car with Biscuit, figuring she would get someone from the stroller department to fold the thing up, then she'd wheel it out, and I'd stick it in the trunk.
She walked out the door of the store and motioned for me to come in. I stepped out of the car and she said, "Come on in. You're getting a new stroller." I said, "What?!?" And she just motioned for me to come.
I grabbed a buggy and set Biscuit's car seat on top. We wheeled into the front door, and Mama was standing at the customer service desk with her hand on her hip. "Oh, Lord," was all I could think. That was her "taking care of business" stance.
The cashiers seemed to be tip-toeing around her a bit, and I said, "What happened?" She said, "I brought it in, and several people tried to close it but nobody could. So I told them they needed to do something. The woman behind the counter said, 'Can you push it over there?' And I told her I had pushed it all the way from Kohl's, and I wasn't pushing it anywhere else!" That's when the manager came over, and Mama informed her that they were giving us a new stroller.
The manager wheeled a huge box up to the front of the store on handtrucks. I told her that the car seat came with the stroller, but it was working fine. She said she'd give us the stroller and write off the rest as damaged goods. She spread out all the parts in the floor and put it together right there in front of the gift-wrapping station.
After she was done, I opened and closed it a few times to make sure it was okay, and I swear, I think I skipped out of the store. It's SO much better!
It had never even occurred to me to take the stroller back. I learned my lesson, though. It never hurts to ask.
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