Category — Reviews

Like I was saying, we went to the Fort Worth Zoo yesterday. (Do you think when Caelyn gets to be 13 or so she’ll be telling her friends that her mom listens to such “weird, lame music”? Is the Lorelai/Rory relationship attainable in that regard?)

Maybe you’ve forgotten that I wrote about our trip to the Dallas Zoo, which was a fun adventure, but, honestly, Fort Worth was way better. The animals all seemed happier and healthier, the habitats were larger, only a few of the cages were fully enclosed with wire, and the entire place had a better feel. Not only was it cleaner, but it’s nestled in the trees and well-landscaped, making visitors (and animals?) feel like they’re in a more natural environment. The grounds were bigger with more eating options and interactive kid stuff. We ran into a zoologist who told us lots of interesting stuff about the reptiles we were watching enjoy their lunch. The zoo-goers were more friendly in general, maybe because it was just Caelyn and me. I really didn’t see very many moms there with just their kids.

We got lots of hellos and door-openings. Several grandparents told Caelyn how cute she is. A young grandfather watched me struggle to get the foil seal off Caelyn’s milk and was on his way over to offer assistance when I finally got it. A mom older than me said, “They never want to go until it’s an emergency,” when Caelyn ran away as I started pushing her stroller into the restroom. (She walked the whole time.) One girl gave me her spot so I could get a picture. A man showed me where two crazy birds were having a fight. Another mom stopped me and said Caelyn and I look EXACTLY alike. Two young couples even joked with me.

The only hang-ups were: 1) no straws or lids for Caelyn and 2) honey bees. The flowers attracted bees, of course, and there were trash cans every 20 yards with 10 to 30 bees swarming each. When we got through the Texas village, I saw an arrow sign that said, “Bats, Bees, Insects.” I turned around, but I can only assume there were a lot of bees back there. And I think they were attracted to dried juice on the stroller or something because a few of them moved in with us.

JSmo says she’s making me go back for therapy, but I think I did a good job. I only freaked out 3 times, when actually being chased. I didn’t choose fear over my kid. I didn’t avoid the trash cans. (I didn’t throw anything away either.) Every time we approached one, I just said, “Look at all the people who aren’t getting stung.” Then I picked up Caelyn, squinted my eyes so I could see where to go but not see the bees, and walked quickly past. I didn’t even run or scream!

(Okay, so I had a hard time going to sleep last night thinking about those bees and all the insane people who work there amongst them every day.)

I also couldn’t figure out how to get back to the lions and tigers without descending the stairs with the stroller, but I’m a little challenged when it comes to maps. (I have good natural instincts about which direction is which, but it’s hard for me to see the top of the map as anything other than what’s in front of me.)

All in all, it was a great time.

Chris couldn’t go with us, and managing the stroller, Caelyn, and the massiveness that is our camera is a lot for me by myself. So I was left with the iPhone for picture taking:

Hey Gorilla!

Caelyn took a seat to watch the orangoutangs.

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If you’re only in this for the review of Young@Heart, skip down to the next bold sentence, ’cause I’m about to intro it with some long, rambling history. It’s my blog. I can do it if I want to.

I think it was my junior year of high school when my friend Susie came to me with an idea.

“You know that retirement home? The one they just built on Tamarack? You think you and I could go over there once a week and volunteer?”

At least I think that’s how it went. I really don’t remember. It could’ve been my idea. It could’ve been her youth minister’s. All I know for sure is we were young and fired up about changing the world. We’d talked about it on a regular basis with our regular group of friends:

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. . . Just to See What They Look Like.

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