We got up early-ish and scurried around to get ready. We were going to the zoo. I'm not a big "zoo" person, but I have 5 children so I have still spent a reasonable portion of my life slogging around zoos. When we finally made it out the door, our home looked like a starving mob of dogs had torn the place up looking for raw meat. We fought traffic, dealt with a couple of wardrobe emergencies, and used 4 band-aids in the first 6 minutes after entering the zoo gates. We met up with our friends, and the children instantly forgot the horrors of the morning. I, however, needed more time to unwind.
A zoo filled with 400,000 children under age 5 is NOT the place to unwind. Who knew?
However, what gets me through motherhood is watching other moms. Seriously- I watched one kid go face-first into the sandy creek in the play area, another child spit and scream furiously at her mom, and another mom making a furious beeline for the bathroom upon realizing her infant's diaper was not all it was advertised to be...ew.
Now, perhaps you are thinking that what helps me get through a day is knowing someone else has it worse than I....that's really not it. What brings a smile to my face is knowing I'm not alone. I've been all those other moms! This too, shall pass. I'm working on abandoning my need to look like June Cleaver (let's get real...I've never fooled anyone!) and I'm learning to accept those days when one of my children leaves the house in mismatched socks, with a milk-mustache and blue fruity toothpaste clumped in his or her hair. As long as my kids leave the house knowing Mom is crazy about them, then the morning went a-ok.
Zoo membership: $100Lunch, snacks and other miscellaneous edibles: $25
Spending a day with 14 of your closest friends: Priceless.
If you know a Veteran, please pass on my family's gratitude to him or her. My grandfather, father, father-in-law and my brother-in-law are all Veterans. Here's to you!
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