Today we had a BIG day planned. I promised H no work, no school, and a super fun time.
With no set schedule, our plans included: taking Mawby to the groomer, stopping at Meijer to get Zoo Days vouchers, spending a couple hours at Potter Park Zoo, getting lunch at the place of H's choosing, picking Mawby back up, and then stopping at the house to see the progress before heading home.
At Meijer, he wanted to look at the toys, even though my intention was just to run in and grab the vouchers. I said sure. On the way to the toys, we stopped by the Fourth of July clearance and found lots of decorations that we can use for our boat for next year's Higgins Lake Boat Parade. Next year will be our year to actually participate instead of just watching!
I remembered today just why I love being H's mom. At the zoo, I let him choose what to look at next. If he wasn't ready to move on, I didn't hurry him along. If he didn't want to spend much time at a certain exhibit, we looked for the next creatures. The best part was watching him think through what us being there together meant. He would ask me what I wanted to see next. He would ask what my favorite things were, or what I liked best about the aviary building. He agreed snakes "are a little yucky" and we shared in the disappointment that once again that darn snow leopard was nowhere to be found. (He stated last time he was there "with his old school" they couldn't spot it either, so we decided either the snow leopard is sick, or just an incredibly good hider.) It was almost like discovering my child again, and also realizing how much I had missed over the past six months because I was so caught up in my own stress from my former job.
After we visited almost every animal exhibit and vendor booth in the whole park, we were treated to popsicles on the way out. We hadn't eaten lunch yet, and H asked if it was ok to eat it anyway. Today the answer was definitely YES. He was sticky and covered in orange syrup and I didn't care because he was smiling and happy and asking if we could come back again, just him and me. And I said, "of course!".
We stopped for lunch at Culver's and I watched him carefully eat an entire plain butterburger with cheese. My kid can eat! He ate most of his fries and happily encouraged me to eat some too "but not the big ones yet, Mom, they are really hot!". He drank all of his chocolate milk and I realized my baby will be in Kindergarten in literally a few weeks. I can't even stand to think about. We got our ice cream and decided to eat outside on the patio even though it melted faster than I could eat it. He seemed very deliberate and lost in his thoughts. Rather than interrupt, I just ate my ice cream and studied his face as he ate. He has the craziest hair right now but it is so blond. We need passports but I'll wait until that hair gets cut before getting his pics taken for that. He looks so much like his dad but yet I see myself in him too. When we went to pick up Mawby, a very friendly cat in the grooming salon was drawn to him and he was petting her (him? he was shaved to look like a little lion, really cute actually) the whole time. Totally something I would do.
In the afternoon we decided we would take a trip to Emerson to play on their playground while we waited for J to get home. We made sure we tried every piece of equipment, including the zipline; twice for both of us! I took a few short videos to capture the moment of just how big he really is.
It was a truly memorable day that I will cherish forever and hopefully he will too. These are the days that an unemployed basement dweller lives for!
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