Rain Date

When the weather turns bad in Manhattan, most of the neighborhood nannies take their charges to Barnes & Noble. On a rainy or very hot day in the City, the children’s section of Barnes & Noble at Union Square could have up to two dozen children pulling books off shelves and pooping in their diapers. It’s pandemonium.

Today, the thunderstorms started early, so I decided to do the suburban version of the trip to Barnes and Noble and take Reilly to the mall. I rolled her around the cell phone kiosks, slowed down to sniff the soaps at Bath and Body Works, and even stopped to have lunch at the food court; I had Chick-Fil-A, and Reilly had Cheerios with milk.

As a whole, the mall was deserted. Being so used to the crowded sidewalks of Manhattan, it was a strange feeling to not have to maneuver around anyone. I just strolled straight down the concourse, the wheels of the Bugaboo humming on the smooth tile floor. As I cruised around the mall, I couldn’t help but wonder about the strange absence of other mothers and nannies. Was the square footage of their homes ample enough to keep their children busy on a rainy day in Florida, or was there some hideout that I was not yet aware of?

It wasn’t until I reached the west end of the mall that I found my answer. There, I came upon a 500 square foot children’s play zone, complete with cushioned benches that surrounded a spring-loaded carpet floor. Across the floor were the usual outdoor playground pieces: a slide, a tunnel, and a clubhouse. Since this play space was inside, it also came complete with books, toys, and other plastic playthings. There were at least a dozen mothers inside—and a few grandparents—all of them watching their kids as they ran madly across the floor.

I had conflicting feelings about the mall play zone. It seemed a little lame to be hanging out with my daughter at the mall, but at the same time, the air conditioning and the cushioned benches were nice. Reilly didn’t have the same misgivings, however; she was all smiles. She hit the ground running and didn’t stop until I carried her out of there an hour later, waving bye-bye to all her new friends.