This week is the break between the preschool year ending and the summer session beginning. So Jillian and Joseph are off, and Brooks is already on summer vacation. Yesterday, however, Jillian needed to work to get the preschool ready for Monday.
Instead of asking the grandparents to watch the boys, I took the day off.
I had been trying to decide what to do with them and eventually settled on the zoo. We have annual passes and go fairly often as a family, but I had never taken both boys by myself before.
I wasn’t entirely sure how that was going to go.
We packed up the backpack with water and snacks, loaded the wagon into the car, buckled in the boys, and set off on our grand adventure.
Getting into the parking lot was hectic and the lines to buy tickets stretched out in front of the entrance. Thankfully we were able to walk right through with our passes and head inside.
We immediately turned away from the crowds and headed toward the elephants and lions before the exhibits became too busy.
Only a couple of elephants had made their way outside and the lions were sound asleep on their platforms, but Joseph was thrilled to see them anyway while Brooks was already eager to move on to the next exhibit.
We crossed the bridge and caught our first glimpse of the panda before stopping for a snack. Brooks and I shared some popcorn while Joseph worked his way through a variety of snacks from the backpack.
From there we bounced from exhibit to exhibit, lingering at the penguins as they darted through the water and stopping to admire the turtles and waterfall before moving on.
As we made our way through the zoo, I was reminded of something.
There is a big difference between taking one child somewhere and taking two.
There is an even bigger difference when one child is six and the other is two.
Brooks still had plenty of zoo left in him.
Joseph was beginning to run out.
After a while Joseph had done enough walking, so I loaded him into the wagon for the climb up the hill past the monkeys. Brooks wanted a ride too, but there was no way I was pushing both boys up that hill.
We made it to the top where we saw a baby koala, the giraffes, and a rhino cooling off in his pool. Joseph was fascinated by this and kept shouting that the rhino was taking a bath.
Eventually I let Brooks climb into the wagon as well for the trip back toward the front of the zoo, but it didn’t take long before Joseph decided that sharing the wagon was unacceptable. Brooks hadn’t done anything wrong, but Joseph couldn’t keep walking, so Brooks drew the short straw and had to get back out.
That’s life when you’re the older brother.
We stopped to see the orangutans and the warthogs, but by then both boys were running out of steam and, if I’m being honest, so was I.
So we called it a day.
We headed back to the car, loaded up, and started the drive home. I put on Danny Go and spent the ride reaching into the back seat to keep Joseph entertained so he wouldn’t fall asleep and ruin his nap later.
Parenting is sometimes a very glamorous job.
When we got home, Joseph couldn’t wait to tell Jillian about the rhino taking a bath.
Brooks wanted to talk about the penguins.
We had seen plenty of animals, shared a snack while watching the tour buses drive by, caught our first glimpse of the panda, and somehow survived my first solo trip to the zoo with both boys.
All in a little over two hours.
We didn’t see every animal.
We didn’t make it to every exhibit.
We didn’t even make it into the kids’ area, which honestly may have been for the best.
But that’s okay.
The goal wasn’t to conquer the zoo.
The goal was to spend a day with my boys.
We saw some animals, laughed at Joseph licking the glass at the baboon exhibit, made a few memories, and came home with two tired kids.
I’d call that a successful day.
Next time we go to the zoo, Jillian will be with us and we’ll be back to playing two-on-two.
But it’s nice to know that if I need to, I can take them on my own.
Even if it means leaving a little earlier than planned.
The Young Napoleon Project 