Zoo

I took the boys to the zoo this week since it was their spring break. We went with a mom and her two daughters. One of the daughters is in Malik's special needs class. Her name is Montie. We had decided to meet up at the zoo at 9:00 in the morning on Wednesday. Right off the bat I was super impressed. I believe this is the first time EVER that we have invited someone to go to the zoo with us that showed up before us. And we were on time. Every other person I have met up with has been late...

We saw the sting rays first of all. My kids have been before, but her girls had not. (her other daughter is 14) We had very good timing and got there right when they were feeding the sting rays, so everyone got a piece of fish to feed them. Jarek dropped his in, but Malik got the sting ray to eat his. It was really cool because their mouths just kind of opened up funny and slurped up the fish. Malik loved it. Montie was a little nervous to do it, so she gave her fish to Malik who happily fed another sting ray. The boys leaned over touching them and encouraged Montie to do the same. After many attempts (she would reach her hand in then pull it away just as the sting rays would come close) she finally touched one and everybody cheered her on for overcoming her fear. It was neat to watch, and her mom was so proud of her.

We decided to let the kids map out our course and they chose to ride the "train" around the park. We got off at the farm area. We took our time wandering around and the kids dug in the compost pile thinking it was great fun pulling out old banana peels and chunks of celery and bits and pieces of food that was mixed in the dirt. Montie got right in there with the boys and her mom was amazed.

When we got to this part by the raccoons, there was a "cave" that you could walk into to see inside the exhibit. the boys went into the cave. I was standing on the other side of the exhibit to wave to to the kids. There were little round glass windows that let you look from the cave into the raccoon exhibit and you could wave to the people inside the cave. Montie kept looking over to where they were and wanted to go, but seemed hesitant. Lori, Montie's mom, was telling me that Montie doesn't wander out of sight of her mom because she has separation fears. Well, Montie kept eyeballing the boys and decided to follow them. The boys urged her to come to the cave, and were careful to look out for her and to make sure she was near them. Lori started having a panic attack of sorts saying that she gets very anxious when Montie is out of her sight for any length of time. I told her to sit down and just breathe. She looked really nervous but I told her there were only two ways out and we could see both exits so they couldn't really escape. The kids were really only there for about 4 minutes, but it was a good for both Lori and Montie. I have been trying give my kids a little more "rope" if you will, to explore and move farther away from my grasp and sight. It is very hard, but it seemed to be a little easier having someone there who has anxiety worse then me when it comes to watching their children. Ultimately she was fine and said that it was good for her to let Montie explore. After that Montie tagged close by the boys and would wander off with them for a bit.

One of the really great things about this zoo trip was the fact that these guys moved at about the same pace as us. I never felt stressed or up-tight about having to keep up with other kids that zoomed on ahead. Since we were at a relaxed pace, we actually lasted a lot longer at the zoo than we normally do. We were there from 9:00 to 1:00. I was amazed, and felt so relaxed.

At the end I wanted to feed Enok before we drove home. We stopped at the big tree house and off the kids went. I was stuck with a baby stuck on me so couldn't shadow my kids like I normally do. Jarek wandered pretty far; I think he was testing how far he could go before I yelled for him to get closer. I never yelled for him, and I think he enjoyed not being under my thumb. Malik took off without a backward glance and made a friend right away. He was sad to leave his friend but promised to find him the next time we came to the zoo.

The boys were very worn out that afternoon and after our daily reading time I let them play some Nintendo. They wanted to go to bed early so we gave them a bath and put them to bed.

This zoo trip was so enjoyable for me. It really makes a difference going with people who move at the same pace. I didn't feel guilty for my kids being slow, or feel guilty for yelling at my kids to hurry it up. We were relaxed, happy and satisfied. I feel that hanging out with other people who have children with special needs really gives me an opportunity to share something in common. It is amazing to see the dedication and strength that other mothers have and the special, deep love that extends beyond their own child to others around them. It is amazing to have these boys in my life. They have opened up my heart and understanding to people and circumstances I may never have met/had before. God knows what he is doing, of that I am sure.