Saturday, September 05, 2009

The End of an Era

Most of the kids baby things - highchairs, booster seats, bumbos, bottles - were all lost in the fire. One symbol of their toddler and infant years, however, was not. Our Quad Stroller.

We bought it from a family in NJ who had triplets but thought that the extra seat would be helpful to them. They decided that it wasn't and took it off. I remember when we got the dumb thing that the seats were painted blue and red... like it wasn't obnoxious enough as it is. I promptly painted the thing a more neutral color, reattached the fourth seat, and we were on our way.

This monstrosity took us everywhere. We took it to the zoo. We won parades by decorating it. We took it to school when Sammy had a Halloween parade. We took it to the farm. This stroller took a family that was, really, immobile - and allowed us to get places. Sure we drew attention wherever we went - but it was worth it. See, it was more than a stroller to us... it was freedom.


I took the picture above this morning. We're putting this bad boy on the block and hoping to sell her to another quadruplet family that is looking for freedom and has still not really been able to find it. Our kids are starting kindergarten and don't fit in it anymore. Subsequently - we have to find ways to pay for their school shoes, their folders, their school bags, and their activities. It's funny because I can see us moving onto another stage in the "High Order Multiple" life. We're selling away the last remnants of their infanthood so that we can move on to the next stage and survive.

Quad Runabout Stroller: $450
Quad Runabout Stroller Carrying Hitch: $150
Selling your freedom: Priceless

*We're selling the Stroller and Hitch together for $500 total if you are in the Philadelphia area and able to come and pick them up. Leave me a comment.

3 comments:

Keith Wilcox said...

Wow! that thing is the Limousine of the baby world! I didn't even know they made strollers that big, of course it makes sense that they would. I have to read back a bit about the fire -- sorry I missed that (I haven't been back in a while) and sorry to hear about it. Good luck on the sale!

Unknown said...

I am sorry to disappoint you if you were expecting a relevant comment; I wanted to email you and your family but there was no contact information available.

Because I am working towards my Special Education degree at Pennsylvania State University, I saw your special on Discovery Health and immediately became intrigued. The reason why I am leaving this message was sparked by one of your daughters with cerebral palsy. When I saw her on the screen with her mild case jumping and moving about at physical therapy, I felt a sense of deja vu. I, too, have a mild case of cerebral palsy. From the time I was two until I was 10, I was wearing splints. I was fortunate to have muscle lengthening surgery, and now people are skeptical when I tell them I have cerebral palsy. I was not a multiple-birth-baby, nor was I premature, but nonetheless have (spastic) cerebral palsy. I just wanted to share with you my story, and to offer support and insight. I am sure you and your family already know everything there is to know about cerebral palsy and have all the loving support you will ever need. But if you would like an inside perspective, my door is always open =)
~Melissa H.

Unknown said...
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