The Perfect Stroller

Sadly, this is not a review. It's more of a vision exercise.

It's been a long time since we've used a stroller. Comfort and Joy are toddlers after all and strollers aren't really made for those that are mobile. Have I also mentioned that our girls are very tall. Comfort is in the 75% for her age and Joy is literally off the chart. I know a lot of parents say this but I'm not joking. People ask us if Comfort is 7 and if Joy is starting Kindergarten when in reality they are 3 [going on 4 next week] and 2, respectively.

But we were doing a lot of sightseeing in DC last week and I knew that there was no way we could cover that much ground without a stroller because I couldn't carry them that far either. Carrying them short trips through a store - Yes. From the Lincoln Memorial to the WWII Memorial - No.

So we pulled out the Sit and Stand stroller that a friend loaned us last year after I mentioned that Comfort was 'done' with our wonderful jogging stroller. She'd had enough of it and wanted more freedom. My friend's kids had just outgrown it and this was perfect timing. It was a rude awakening for me as I transitioned from the wonderful, and lightweight, double jogging stroller to the tandem, rear stearing Sit and Stand style stroller.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who finds these strollers to be almost more difficult than they are worth. Yes, they did offer us a way to keep the kids moving while not having to actually carrying them myself but at what cost. Steering one of these strollers - or any tandem stroller - is like steering an 18-wheeler from the rear. I'm not kidding. And for some reason these things weigh so much even though they appear to be hollow. Whereas, my jogging stroller appeared to me made of metal tubes and was so light I could get it in and out of the back of the car with little effort.

So this is what I propose - I want a Sit and Stand stroller that drives as well as a jogging stroller. I'm sure this technology exists and I can't be the first person to think of it. Here are some specific things that would be helpful:

• Ways to keep feet of older kids in the front seat off the ground
• Good wheels. Just going across a broken pavement nearly pitched Comfort off the sitting platformm
• Additional width. Doors most places are ADA compliant so take advantage of this..
• Here's a novel idea - kick off the front seat and have two benches for people like me who have two toddlers in this 'I can't walk that far' age range

So there it is. Sadly, until the girls get more stamina we probably won't be going on any mega sightseeing adventures again because the I can't take using the stroller again. Even yesterday's trip up the street to the bank and the drugstore was painful. Literally. A better idea, in fact, a Cool Idea, would be a stroller that was lightweight, steered liked a dream and had wheels that could handle broken pavement instead of being made only for the smooth surface of a shopping mall.

Thank you.