and it's also been a long time since the kids and I headed to the zoo.
Zoos make me misty-eyed. Not the plight of the polar bears, although if I spent enough time obsessing about it that might draw a tear or two. But - hey! - we walk and bike often, we planted a small garden again this year, we turn off our lights...
I digress.
Rather, mental images of these two little ones pull at my momma-heart.
In their toddler years, the kids and I frequented the Fort Worth Zoo often enough that "zero-sense-of-direction-me" had it mentally mapped out. Chubby little toddler fingers pointed out squirrels in preference of giraffes... little legs always wore out before we reached the exit gate... Sweet times.
We have lived in Colorado for almost three years now, without visiting the Denver Zoo, a mere 45 minutes away. Yesterday the kids and I headed out to make some new memories in our (still new?) place, although images from the old have been calling me lately.
Observations: Then and There vs. Here and Now
1. We wore jackets. Until 1 pm. In June.
(We have been having a "major heat wave" recently. [Low 90s; sorry TX friends] Overcast and 58 degrees yesterday felt relatively nippy but oh-so-nice.)
2. Bears get frisky in cooler weather.
Very frisky.
Yes, THAT kind of frisky.
Some bears are quite uninhibited in captivity.
3. Seven-year-olds are no longer satisfied with the answer "they're mating." Or "they're making cubs." (Eleven-year-olds have already had The Class at school.)
4. The kids pointed out the animals that we were actually paying to observe. And the squirrels.
5. There were no sippy cups. Both kids walked the entire 6 hours without tiring. No diaper changes.
*I did have my hands free to aid a fellow mom who exited the bathroom stall with toilet paper trailing from her shoe and a screaming, naked-from-waist-down, toddler. Ah, empathy. And NO, I did NOT hand her the classic syrupy line, "This season will pass so quickly; cherish it!" I handed her paper towels and a plastic baggie instead.
6. There are roses to smell in every time and place.
