Several months ago during school drop-off commutes, Chris told me that Kaia had made a little friend on the subway who loves to call out the subway stops as much as he does. Little A, who is several months younger than Kaia, lives on the Upper East Side and commutes down to West 4th Street for his 3s program. Kaia and Little A noticed each other when one day on a southbound B/D train, they overheard the other also yelling out the subway stops as they were approaching each station. Realizing their mutual love of the subway bonded them instantly, and from that point onward, the two kids and their two dads would sit on the subway together. Today, I finally got to meet Little A and his dad. We were stopping at a station, and instantly a kid on the platform saw Kaia’s face peering out and started screaming and yelling, “KAIA! KAIA!” As soon as I could make out what he was yelling, I realized that this must be infamous Little A.
Little A’s dad and I introduced ourselves and made some small talk. We both learned that both our kids would be attending local schools within walking distance of our homes come September, so unfortunately for their love of the subway, they’d no longer be taking the train on weekdays roundtrip anymore. We both laughed about how other people seem to think this is a plus given closer proximity to homes and the ability to walk to school, whereas we knew that our kids would be sad to no longer have a reason to ride the train every day. I told his dad that we usually are out and about and take the trains on Saturdays and some Sundays we are in town, so it wouldn’t be like she’d have zero subway rides anymore. We all love the fact that we live in a city with such great, convenient public transport, and there was no way Kaia would be a stranger to the subway system once she started kindergarten.
It is crazy to think how almost two years of her 3s and 4s programs are very close to coming to an end — it feels like it came and went in a flash. As we initially approached her 3K program starting, I’ll be honest and admit I was dreading the daily commute to pick her up. But after the first week, we all adapted to it pretty seamlessly, and it just became our new known routine. I’ve embraced it for having an excuse to be in Chinatown every day, and I’ve especially embraced it for having reasons to try out and patronize new and old favorite local businesses. Frankly, I’m not even sure who is going to miss this more, Kaia or me. But I do reflect upon all our subway commuting experiences together and I love all the moments I’ve shared and witnessed with her on the train. She’s had such great, memorable experiences, making new friends like Little A, having cute interactions with strangers young and old who think she’s super cute or smart or both, and witnessing the extreme kindnesses of complete strangers who give up their seats for her or both of us, and just want her to enjoy her little corner seat on the old B/D trains. This is one of the many greatnesses of living in New York City that I will always relish.