I know you know what I'm talking about.
Those Days where you wish you could rewind the clock. Do it over again. And yet there's a part of
you that would rather a fast-forward button to get it all over with and end the evening with a large chocolate milkshake, a movie and a pedicure.
Yeah, in my dreams.
Well, today was one of Those Days.
It's not like I didn't have a few clues. Warning signs to say, "Stop! Turn around! You're headed into dangerous water!" I did. And yet, I didn't listen.
Today I took the kids to the zoo with my cousin. The first clue that this might have been a bad idea was when Jack insisted on seeing the “seebas,” or zebras. Like NOW. And he was insistent. It wasn’t a huge deal to change our course, though it did seem to mess with our rhythm. We go to the zoo about once a week. We’ve got a route that we follow. And our normal route doesn’t necessarily go by the zebras. But I figured, “Hey, why not?” And so we did. Now I’m sorta wishing I hadn’t.
The second clue was when another mom had to tell me that my son (Jack) had climbed to the other side of the rhinoceros fence. You know, no big deal. Not that my son was in danger of falling down the 20-foot drop that separated him from one of the largest vegetarians at the zoo or anything. That was my second clue. And I missed it.
The third clue involved a sandwich with pickles and the mulch on a playground. Use your imagination.
But the point where I realized I had come too far was when we passed a sprinkler, watering the flowers. The boys insisted on going into it. I refused. They cried. They made a scene. I threatened them. They cried some more. I kept walking, Ben pulled on the stroller. Screaming as if I had been pulling out his toenails, one at a time. People are watching – appalled, I’m sure – wondering how this woman had been allowed to breed. I kept my eyes down and my mind focused on my new goal: leaving.
But even after the decision has been made to make as swift of an exit as possible, this is not an immediate thing. If I had a transporter, this would have been the time to use it. We still had a ten-minute walk out of the zoo and that doesn’t even count for the street we have to cross in order to get to our van. Ben, at this point, was screaming uncontrollably, pulling on my stroller, and demanding me to wait for him. Into oncoming walking traffic. So what did I do? I just kept walking. As much as I could. With him in one arm, the baby on my chest and pushing the stroller ahead of me. I just had to keep on walking until we got to a spot where I could sit down and see what was the matter.
Well, he calmed down eventually. But it took a while. Much longer than I would care to admit. I teased with my cousin, it’s a good thing my kids look like me – at least a little – or else people would think I was kidnapping these kids! Or even better, torturing them!
I was so grateful when we made it to the car and I was able to harness the boys into their car seats. But not until Jack fell and spilled his water on the sidewalk; yup, that was a minor catastrophe. With the promise of getting more water at home, though, we trudged on. Naps were difficult, but at least they happened.
So, yeah. I had warning signs. Clues that this was not going to be our best day in public. In the heat. Too close to naptime. While trying to visit with someone else. Nope, not our best day. And yet, I’m hoping they take a long enough nap to shake it all off because we’re going to a birthday party tonight!
I guess I’ve always been a glutton for punishment.
