ZOODAY

Yesterday was Thanksgiving day- the day of our first annual zoo trip. I woke up at 6am to the gurgle of my  auto-program coffee maker, the best alarm clock (and invention) in the world. Later on NPR, I heard that the price of coffee is about to sky-rocket. Figures. I better start stock-piling it now. We were to meet our group of friends, about 11 others, by 8:30 and all caravan together. But it wasn’t to be. By the time I helped dress & feed my family, the two Chihuahuas and packed lunches, I was already 15 minutes behind schedule so we just met them there at the zoo. The zoo is a two hour drive from our home and the holiday traffic was heavy around the big cities. As we turned onto the rolling, less traveled highways we relaxed more and the three of us chatted about what animals we might see. Being the horrible parents we are, we have never (I repeat: “NEVER“) taken our daughter to the zoo. The last time we went I was nine months pregnant with her and had to be zipped around in a wheel-chair due to my Shamoo-esque belly.  I was wearing a button-up denim shirt that I wouldn’t be caught dead in today. We reasoned that she has already seen some pretty cool animals up close in her lifetime: swimming with dolphins, having tropical birds land on her head, tigers in Dominican Republic, seal shows, holding snakes, helping corral 200 cows back to the stall, watching mangy dogs fight on farms, goats, weasels & rats...We also once had a run-away steer charge at us on the main street in Cotacachi, Ecuador and we didn‘t have to pay for that. So we never felt it necessary to take her to a zoo and she never once asked to go. But she had an awesome time, she got to hang out with some friends and she saw more real animals she can now add to her list of what she wants for pets. We stayed until closing time and upon arriving home it was as dark as it was when I woke up. (Dang you, day-light savings!) We three ate soup & sandwiches for dinner, played some old school Mario Kart, then turned in early completely sore and exhausted. (Where’s that wheel-chair??) It truly was a wonderful family day and I fell asleep thinking about how much I love being a mom.