The Idea Behind the Idea

08/19/2008

I'm not sure how many free bags I walked away with following the birth of my son but I know it was a lot.  Diaper bags, tote bags, plastic bags, and even a backpack.  My husband and I had already learned from our Registry experience at Babies 'R Us that babies require a lot of stuff.  Apparently, the hospitals, baby formula companies, pediatricians, and local nonprofit organizations knew that too and wanted to make sure you had something to help you cart it all around.

Each of these bags contained more stuff.  Freebies, coupons, brochures, etc.  In each one I found one or two things of real value and otherwise chucked the rest.  But it was the bag that I received while I was in the hospital that held something truly special.  This bag had stickers that you were supposed to put on your infant's car seat.  On the stickers was a place for you to write your child's name and emergency contact information.  They were called WHALE stickers, which stood for "We have a little emergency."  The idea was to provide emergency contact information for the infant in case they were involved in a car accident.  I was fascinated by them.  It was like winning the tote bag freebies lottery.  I immediately installed them in both my and my husband's cars.

Unfortunately, the stickers had a shelf life.  When my son was a year old we had to upgrade to larger car seats, which meant that I needed new stickers.   The only way I knew how to get more was through the hospital, but when I called them and described the stickers they did not know what I talking about. 

So I made my own.  I typed up my son's information - name/birth date/medical info/emergency contact info/etc., then took the tags I had made to be laminated.  I tied the tags to the back of the driver's seat in each of our cars, because by that time my son was big enough to mess with anything we tied to his car seat.  I thought they would be visible enough to emergency workers hanging from the backs of our seats.  I also stashed the tags in all of my diaper bags, strollers, etc.  And then I went about my business.

Soon, however, my friends started to notice the tags and made a big deal about how cool they were.  They asked me to make tags for them.  When I explained that I was just continuing something that was started by the WHALE stickers they responded with blank looks.  I was amazed.  I had assumed that everyone got WHALE stickers in the hospital.  Turns out, most people don't.

It was not until my son was two years old that I really began to think seriously about making my tags on a widescale basis.  By then I had talked to many moms about the tags.  I had thought about what I wanted to do differently from the WHALE stickers.  I knew I didn't want stickers because, as I had learned, they were not transferable from car seat to car seat, and I was determined to keep my son in some kind of safety seat for as long I could (perhaps until college?).   I needed a tag that would follow my son from car seat to booster seat, and from car to car, particularly if he was traveling with friends, babysitters, grandparents, etc. 

I also knew that I wanted a picture on the tag.  I thought this was especially important for people who had more than one child, to ensure that medical information could be matched to the right kid. 

Other moms told me they did not want to have to handwrite the information on the tags.  They thought the information was too critical to risk bad handwriting or ink smudges.  They wanted them to look professional and be easily read.

I also knew I wanted a sticker to put on the other side of the car seat, so that if emergency personnel entered the side opposite where the tag was they would see something to direct them to the tag.

Throughout all of this I took copious notes.  Luckily, I had plenty of tote bag space for them!

 

The Beginning

08/05/2008

It all started early on a Sunday morning in January, 2004.  I woke up to find that my stomach was suddenly very round, very large, and very hard.  And I had to pee, bad.  And often.  I had no idea what was going on with my body.  After many moments of panic I decided to take matters into my own hands: I jumped on the internet to self-diagnose, reading about everything from fibroid tumors to cancer and all points in between.  Having thus worked myself up into a frenzy of life-threatening theories I phoned my doctor's office at 8:01 am the very next morning to get an appointment, pronto.   The peculiar look on my doctor's face when she saw me - and my supersized tummy - later that day did not help to calm my overactive imagination.  She ordered an ultrasound immediately.

And so it was that I lay on the ultrasound table covered in warm goo when the nurse flicked on the monitor and I saw a round object in the middle of the screen.  "Is that a tumor,"  I asked?  It was the nurse's look - a mixture of puzzlement, amazement, and amusement - that tipped me off that the tumor hypothesis was off the charts wrong.  But I, in my stubbornness, continued on.  "But you've seen my chart.  You know I can't get pregnant," I insisted. 

You see, after 8 years of marriage my husband and I agreed that we were definitely in this thing together "for better or worse" (having just survived the dreadful 7-year itch) and were ready to have children.  But after several months without a period, and a series of tests and meetings with specialists we were told that I could not get pregnant.  Anyone who's been down the road I'm describing knows the devastation that comes with such news.  To cope, we joined an infertility support group (Resolve, which is superb), went to see a therapist, learned eveything we could about adoption, and otherwise cried ourselves silly (okay, it was me who did all the crying while my husband put on his best stoic face and prayed himself silly). 

So when I saw my protruding belly that Sunday morning it honestly did not occur to me that I might be pregnant.  In fact, in emails that I sent to family and friends later that day I commented on the irony of life that my stomach now looked like that of a woman who was five months pregnant.  More than one doctor told me I couldn't get pregnant, and I believed them and never looked back. 

The nurse continued to stare at me for a minute, taking in the intensity of my insistence that I was not pregnant.  Finally, it was too much for her.  "Well honey, that's a baby," she said as she pointed to the round object on the monitor.  Silence.  Then sobbing.  Then more sobbing.  She asked, "is that good crying?"  Though words could not express the joy and awe I was experiencing I did my best to piece together a sentence that let her know how incredible this moment was.  But that was not necessary.  She got it.  An hour later, my husband had his moments of shock, awe, and sheer jubilation as well.  (Certainly, he shared my shock that I was, indeed, FIVE MONTHS pregnant.  Who knew?!?  But that's a story for another time.)

Thus, on May 10, 2004, we welcomed Matthew Isaac (aka "Scooter") into the world with all the joy that is borne of unimaginable grief turned on its head. 

This is the genesis of Go Scooter Go! and the I.C.E. Tag.  Although the ideas for these did not come until later, this is where they come from, and this is what they're about.  It's important that you know that as you learn about this venture.   Even though it's a great story I don't tell it for its own sake.  I use it both as a foundation and to empahsize the fact that Go Scooter Go! and the I.C.E. Tag are about doing everything we can to celebrate, encourage, and protect the lives we have been entrusted with, whether they be the lives of our children, our partners, our parents, our friends, or even our own.  Because they are always and everywhere gifts, whether expected or unexpected.

Peace, Kristen

Where Does the Time Go?!?

07/29/2008

I'll skip all of the pithy quotes and cliches about how quickly time goes by.  The bottom line is, life sort of speeded up after my initial launch of Go Scooter Go! and I am just now feeling like I've caught up with myself. 

What have I been doing all this time?!?  Well, initial response to Go Scooter Go! has been very positive and I have been busy filling orders and making sure that our customers are happy.  I've also had to keep up with my "day job," which involved completing a HUGE project that was both exhausting and fulfilling.  And in the midst of all of this I've been staying connected with my family, keeping up with an active and curious 4-year-old, taking a few family trips, and maintaining a busy household.

That part's the truth.  But there are other reasons for the blogging lapse.  I think what's also going on, just a little bit deeper, is some fear.  Okay, maybe not SOME fear.  Perhaps, a whole mess of fear.  It's the fear that goes along with launching a new business; the fear that comes with working hard to bring an idea to light and then having to lay that idea and hard work out there for all to see and judge and buy into or not buy into.  That fear.

So along with this new posting I'm committing to keeping up this blog thing, despite the crazy busy schedule that is the norm around here, and, better yet, despite the fear that is my constant companion while this venture takes off.  I'll even make the commitment to use my powers for good, and convert the fear into positive energy, cool product ideas, and fabulous blogs. 

Stay tuned!  

Peace, Kristen

Welcome!

03/27/2008

"Mommy, will you tell me a story?"

This is the request I get from my son, Matthew (aka "Scooter"), daily, if not 2 or 3 times daily.  The usual evening ploy to delay going to bed, you ask?  Actually, no.  These requests only come when we are riding in the car.  Whether we are making the 22 minute (yes, for those hectic mornings when every second counts, I have it timed to the last second!) drive to his school or the 2 minute drive to our church, he wants me to tell him a story.

This has presented somewhat of a challenge for me.  When you consider the near-lethal combination of my commitment to high-quality children's books and my strong, perfectionistic streak, you can understand how his requests can send me into a tailspin, beads of sweat pouring from my forehead as I strain to come up with the most creative and most fascinating tale ever to be told.  As if I have a New York Times Book Review columnist sitting in my backseat rather than my almost 4-year-old son. 

Luckily, he's easily pleased and over time the two of us have worked together to form our very own cast of characters.  There's Harry, the harry Gnip-Gnop; the Purple Wombat; the Weeblenot (my personal fave); the Blue-spotted Dragon; and Clancy the Bear.  Recently, we've added Batman and Robin, Scooby-Doo and the Gang, and any of my son's other current heros.  It's been good for me, because I've learned that I don't have to create the perfect story for him to be entertained, and it's been great for us because it gives us something to share as we sail down the road together.

And over time, I've come to understand that these stories are not really about entertaining Matthew, although that is the by-product.  Rather, his repeated requests for stories are his way of maintaining a connection with me while it's just the two of us.  I can imagine this has become important to the little guy who can only stare at the back of my head from his backseat throne, and whose voice can easily get drowned out by the radio or a cellphone.  These stories are his way of staying connected with me.

That's really what this new venture - Go Scooter Go! - is about, too.  It's about helping people stay connected with their loved ones while they're on the go.  In this day and age when we are all crazy busy and constantly on the go, a little connection goes a long way.  The I.C.E. Tags that I created provide one specific way to do that: they are meant to keep you connected with your family in the event of an emergency, such as a car accident. 

But there are other ways that Go Scooter Go! can help you stay connected as you are on the go.  Throughout our website you will find "Tips for Safe and Active Lifestyles!" as well as "Success Stories!" that provide ideas  - your ideas - for staying connected with your loved ones while you're on the go.  Our "Links!" will connect you with websites that give you great safety tips; offer cool and hip clothing, toys, and gadgets; keep you entertained; or inspire you to start your own business.  And our "Give Back!" pages will offer you ways to find deeper connections with the global community of families on the go.

Check us out and see what you think.  And send us your feedback, ideas, suggestions, etc.  We want to connect with you.

Now get going.  Stay connected.  And tell a good story along the way.

Peace, Kristen