Boston Duck Tour: A Day of Joy, village, and Togetherness

Some events are planned on paper. Some are planned with heart.

And when 40 families, 140 people, and countless emotions come together, you realize how much courage it takes to simply dare to dream.

Planning any event for anybody other than your family is always a difficult task. You keep thinking about so many things, and when the event involves families with kids with different needs — it is always challenging.

Especially when it is in an enclosed environment where families have no freedom to leave in the middle of the event.

But unless you dream, how will you manage or do it?

So I dared to dream.

A Boston Duck Tour for families from Desi Mom’s Network.

There were lots of emails back and forth, phone conversations, reading reviews, checking maps, going through frequently asked questions, and finally, a day was set.

People signed up.

I was planning for two buses first, then three, and eventually added a fourth one. There were still families reaching out, but I realized that 140 was a good enough number.

After the Family Day celebration, I was determined not to take everything on myself, so I chose five mothers to volunteer along with three of the admins. Every bus had two people in charge.

They were given task lists a week before, sent materials to read in detail, and received detailed instructions again in a reminder the night before. I had already done the seat allocation in advance. Every bus had families from different towns.

Finally, the day came.

To my surprise, everything was perfect. People were there before time. It looked like everybody was excited.

These volunteer mothers did an amazing job taking pictures, posting in the group, and giving out name tags.

When we reached there, we took a group picture — or at least tried to capture 140 people in one frame.

It looked like a train station in India.

Then the group leaders took pictures of each bus group. And then they took pictures of each family. They flawlessly executed my vision.

The real joy was seeing the kids excited, and I think the cupcakes and stickers I carried helped amplify that happiness.

The staff was amazing and grateful that everything was planned well. They did not have to worry about counting people because all 40 families already knew in advance which bus they were going on and who would be with them.

The tour started.

The kids enjoyed it, and so did the parents. Most of them were doing it for the first time — not with strangers, but with families who were just like them. As one mother put it, “We all are in the same boat.”

The drivers and narrators were awesome on all the buses. The kids had an exciting time going from land to water and then steering the boat.

Most of the time, these kids are deprived of such opportunities, but today they had a great time. They were treated well, and parents could breathe easy because their kids were in a non-judgmental environment.

We got back to the Museum of Science. Some families hung out, some left, but we all ended the day with gratitude.

For a change, I am focusing not on what did not work well, but on everything that did.

I am relieved and full of gratitude that everything worked out well.

The 40 families had a great time. The smiles on their faces and the hugs from those children are the only things I want to remember. At the end of the day, it was never really about the buses, the schedules, or the logistics. It was about belonging, laughter, shared experiences, and creating memories together. 

Dad decided to skip this event, but the boys were my plus-ones. Sadly, I don’t have any pictures with them. Something to fix at the next event :) They got to steer the boat so did the mom :)