I am reminded every day of just how amazing and fortunate Harlan is to grow up in a city full of life and culture. She was just nine months old when we moved to the city, which was too young to remember any of her life in the suburbs.
At merely 2 years old she has lived in this concrete jungle for most of her life. Riding the bus, using her stroller as her main mode of transportation, and apartment living is all she knows. I was blatantly reminded of just how much of a city girl she really is on our recent trip down south.
Living in the city, there are a lot of things that we are “sheltered” from that suburbanites see everyday. It wasn’t until just a couple of weeks ago that I realized our city lifestyle may also be hindering Harlan.
Harlan is just at the age that she recognizes fear. She is very aware of noises outside and will let you know if a noise scares her. Most of the time she is scared because something startles her, but just recently, everyday household objects have come to scare her the most.
In Hilton Head, Harlan saw something that fascinated her, yet scared her at the same time. I saw her standing at the window staring down in amazement at the ground below. As she called me over to show me her new found treasure I looked down to see a man mowing the grass on a riding lawn mower. Having lived in the suburbs for many years and see thousands of people mow their lawns, this wasn’t that appealing to me. It wasn’t until then that I realized Harlan had never seen a lawn mower before. We don’t see them in the city and this was the first time that she recognized it was something new and interesting.
As we made our way downstairs to take a closer look the loud noises and grass everywhere she was terrified. Clinging onto me for dear life.
As we made our way through the next two weeks I was amused at how many “new” household objects scared her. She would cover her ears at the sound of the dishwasher, garbage disposal, and washing machine {all things we are not fortunate to have living here.} She wouldn’t dare step outside until the garage door was all the way up. The doorbell ringing sent her running straight for my arms instead of seeing who was at the door.
In the city the sounds of jack hammers and sirens fill her ears with no fear, yet these small little noises leave her scared and clutching to me more than ever before.
Although we know our city lifestyle isn’t forever, Harlan has made it blatantly obvious that for right now, maybe the concrete jungle is where she was meant to be.
16 comments
Roo {NiceGirlNotes}
Wowwwwww so interesting to see the suburbs from a toddler’s point of view! Love that picture of Harlan!
Glamamom
Twitter: glamamom
So true. Fear of the unknown. I’ll never forget when we first put Sebastian on grass. He was horrified LOL!
Kerri
Twitter: SavvyMomNYC
I, too, feel like Harlan when out of my city element. Living in the city all my life, I enjoy the loud sounds. That is what city life is about. It is when we are away and it is quiet that I feel quite uncertain. We went to Charlotte a few weeks ago and every little noise that the house made practically made me jump.
Monica @MacaroniKidNYC
So true! We recently took a drive upstate with our daughter (who is 3 1/2), and the thing that left the biggest impression on her was all the mailboxes in front of the houses. She’d never seen an actual mailbox before! You should have heard her squealing with delight every time we drove by one. Go figure.
Laura
Twitter: meuninterrupted
Oh the things we don’t think about! It’s funny seeing things through their eyes isn’t it?
Cam
we just had this same discussion about our son! Although his main source of fear are flies! He’s almost two. Maybe it’s that age?
Christine @ Quasi Agitato
Twitter: csiracusa
My son is 9 and now revels in the space and freedom we enjoy on visits to more suburban areas. However, if it is too quiet or too dark…I start to get a little wigged out. At first it’s great. But I grow increasingly uncomfortable. I believe there is safety in numbers. And streetlights.
Bicultural Mama
I use to live in the city so I can totally relate to not having the “normal” things that the suburbanites have and how that would be all so new to a kid to see and hear those things for the first time. It’s great that your daughter is exposed to both worlds so she take the best from the both!
Jenn Falik
Such a great post- fun for me to imagine (and scary too!) what Alexa will be like when she is 2 after living in the city all her life.
anna ~ random handprints
so funny, and i can relate. i remember going to visit some friends in the suburbs when my daughter was two and they were playing in the yard and she came to me completely distressed about the substance that was on her hands, knees… dirt. she had no idea what it was. too cute, these toodlers 🙂
Jenn (Mommie Couture)
Twitter: mommiecouture
I never in a million years would have guessed any of this! We’re bringing my little man up to NYC for his first trip to the city to visit my big fat Greek fam and now I’m a little nervous he’s going to be scared of all the sights & sounds of Manhattan!
Alicia @MommyDelicious
Twitter: MommyDelicious
Every time Aiden and I visit my god parents in Princeton, NJ, I’m reminded of the same thing — he is SUCH a city boy! I mean, the kid knew how to catch a cab from 2 years old. He’d say, “Mommy, I no see a bus coming so we haf to take a cab. Put your hand out like this.” LOL! The sounds of a lawn mower and dishwasher scare ME so I could only imagine Harlan…
elizabeth-flourishinprogress
Twitter: noshoppingliz
Wow. I never thought of this! I’m still a suburban girl at heart, so it’s only natural for me to associate the unknown with city life, but I guess for a city savvy girl like Harlan, it’s the opposite!
Natalie
Twitter: corp2domestic
I’m sure I would have never thought of those things as something a child would even recognize…but you are so right! You never know how it is to see things through a child’s eyes! I love that pic by the way!
Natalie recently posted..Down the Aisle-With Mommy of a Monster & Twins!
The Mommyologist
I am SO jealous…I would love to live in the city. Suburbia is totally overrated!!! Enjoy it for me!
The Mommyologist recently posted..Vacations Have Changed: And So Have Vacation Hangovers
Amber
Twitter: natertotblog
Oh Harlan! Isn’t it amazing the things that we find commonplace can be so new, exciting and scary to them? It’s precious! I often find that things that scare the heck out of Nate in the beginning, end up completely fascinating him. Weird little kids 😉 Great photo on the street!