Nostalgia

Yesterday, the kids and I did something we haven't done in about 4 years (yes, that is about half of Cate's life) -- we went to the zoo for a fun afternoon. This may not seem like newsworthy behavior, but it was a pretty sweet time filled with nostalgia by both myself and the kids.

Back in the day, the Loudon family had its own annual pass to the zoo. In those days, it was easily the best $50 that could be spent. All that space with miles to just let active toddlers R.U.N. That was just what the doctor ordered when we lived in a small house in a state with very long winters. We would meet friends there and wander along the pathways checking out the animals, drinking hot chocolate in the coffee shop to warm up, and generally enjoying the feeling of getting out of the house.

Now we live in a period of life where getting out of the house is no longer the main goal in life. In fact, it's quite possibly the opposite. We spend our hours zooming to school, running carpool, going to scout meetings, heading to the pool, zooming up the mountain for piano lessons, and collapsing in joy at the end of the day that we are finally home. Isn't it strange how different seasons of life make things so very different?

This week, a perfect storm of events made us think about heading out to the zoo on a random Thursday afternoon after school. Usually, we would be at the pool on Thursday afternoons, but the pool is out of order this week and swim practice has been cancelled. The sun is shining and much of the snow has melted, making the zoo even more inviting. Cate has been studying Alaska animals at school for the past few months, making it an even more enticing afternoon outing. What the heck -- we headed out.

What ensued was a pretty sweet time of watching my grown up kids run down the pathways of the zoo just like when they were little. Their little legs still remembered which path to take to get to their favorite animals. Christopher, who can seem so much like a teenager these days (sitting around listening to music through his earbuds), was enthralled with the animals and joyfully ran down the paths while simultaneously remembering and retelling stories from the zoo that he remembers from the old days. We remembered picnics with friends, those coffee shop breaks to warm up, favorite animals who are no longer there (good-bye, Maggie the elephant - you have not been forgotten!), and many specific moments with friends. Mostly, we remembered play dates at the zoo with the VanDoorne family and with the cousins. Sweet memories, all.

This time, instead of me yelling at the kids to not run too far in front of me ("stay where I can see you!") I was regaled with snippets of facts about Alaska animals from Cate. She has surely learned a great deal in the Alaska animals theme study they've been working on. I heard about the color of Polar Bear's skin underneath their fur (black), the preferred diet of the brown bear (mostly roots and berries), and the architectural design aspects of beaver ponds. My, how life has changed.

My favorite comment from the outing? This one from Christopher, "Ya, you know I have so many good memories of the zoo from when I was just a little boy. I think when I'm a grown up and a dad and I bring my kids here, I'll have a lot of good stories to tell them about coming here when I was their age." Yes, that is the sound of his mother's heart melting.

One of our biggest new zoo memories will undoubtedly be of the Trumpeter Swans (in the movie clip included here). Cate's teacher has been reading "Trumpet of the Swans" by E.B. White to the class. Cate likes it so much that she has been reading ahead at home. She's about 100 pages past the class now -- I caught her at 10:00 pm one night this week still holed up in her bedroom reading instead of sleeping. Anyways, in all our trips to the zoo I've never heard the swans trumpet before. Until yesterday. They really do sound like trumpets! Cate was so excited, I've now been told that I must come to school early today to share the video of the trumpeting swans with the class.

Yes, taking time out of the busy schedule to go and play with my kids like the old days was well worth an afternoon. And yes, we did buy a new annual pass. I think we'll be enjoying the zoo a few more times this year, before they become too old and cool to want to go back.