Back to our regularly scheduled programming

So, enough politics. One of Jack's current obsessions is going down to the light at the big intersection by our house and pushing the "walk" button. It's not a long walk, but it's not an insignificant one either. I try to get him to do it when Daddy gets home, but in his current Mommy mode, I frequently end up tagging along. When that happens, Jack very quickly demands, "Up here!" which means he wants me to carry him on my shoulders.

Once we arrive at our intersection, we press the walk button on one side of the street, cross, press the button on the other side, and re-cross. Then we go back home. Usually by the time we get back to our block, he's sick of riding on my shoulders and wants to walk. The problem with this, however, is that Jack isn't very focused on getting back home. He gets distracted by a puddle in the street or the rocks in the neighbor's yard or a random leaf on the ground. The one thing that will usually motivate him to keep moving in the right direction is if I walk a little bit away from him and then crouch down with my arms out. Then Jack runs into my arms and gives me a big hug around the neck. We repeat this about 10 times, and we finally make it home.