UH-ZAUSTED!

JR was very excited about going to his Field Trip to the Buttonwood Park Zoo this morning and could hardly contain himself until it was time to leave. I joked with him, saying he didn't need to go to Buttonwood Park to be at the zoo, because our house generally is a zoo, too, but the humor was clearly neither understood or appreciated... Oh well...

The deal was the parents would drop their kids off and pick them back up at the zoo, since it is only about 2 miles from school, eliminating a need for a bus. All the way there he chatted incessantly about all the fun he was going to have. "I'm gonna see the zebra, and the elephant, and the smelly cows, and the pigs. And I'm gonna go on the train ride, and I'm gonna look for jellyfish". I tried to tell him that there aren't any jellyfish (his favorite, mind you) at the zoo, but he didn't believe me, or thought I was fooling him. He insisted there were. So, I dropped him off at the designated spot as teachers and parent chaperones tried to keep the group from running off in 10 different directions. Several parents looked as if they were having second thoughts about volunteering, which always fascinates me. Did they think it wouldn't be hectic?

So off he went to the zoo, and I headed back towards home, where cool activities were waiting for me; 2 loads of laundry, gardening, boat provisioning, and grocery shopping. Sabaka, clearly hurting, and not himself at all, came along for the ride, but didn't enjoy it the way he normally does. No standing on the front seat howling at people in the cars next to us at traffic lights, no nose prints on the windows, not even a single attempt to get into the trash container for food wrappers to eat. He simply rested on the floor, and winced a few times. Poor guy!

The morning of course flew by, and as I was driving to the zoo to pick him up, I wondered what wonderful tales he would have to tell. He was happy, as usual, to see me, and asked permission to leave. About half the children had been picked up already, and the ones who remained were still all excited. The teachers & chaperones on the other hand, looked like they needed a mega dose of Tylenol.

After walking back to the car without a single word from JR about what adventures he had had, I was puzzled.

"Have a good day, bud?" I asked him.
"Yep"
"See lots of cool animals?"
"Yep"
"Did you get to ride on the train?"
"Uh-huh"

Not quite the responses I anticipated, but I kept on and to my next question, "Hmmmm, how about jellyfish?" he responded in his most authoritative and emphatic voice

"Mo-mmy (pronounced Maaaaaammy), that is just silly. Everybody knows there are no jellyfish at this zoo!!"

Duly noted, I thought to myself with a smile.

And then, when I asked him why he was so quiet, came his best answer: "Uh, Mommy, everytime I go to the zoo and walk so many miles, I always get uh-zausted"

The only thing I could think of as I drove the rest of the way home was that maybe, just maybe, he would (and thus I could) take a nap since he was so tired The ride home, however, was the only rest he needed, and napping wasn't gonna happen. That's okay, I am an optimist, and there is always tomorrow!