So we went to the zoo…
The zoo was not our first choice today.
Or any day really…
I mean, don’t get me wrong, There are fewer places Jonah enjoys more than the zoo.
But there are fewer places that I enjoy taking him LESS than the zoo.
Jonah is too big for his stroller which means he was on foot. Which also means I get to chase him all around the park.
And when the dangers of elopement at a zoo range from Jonah climbing into the giant aquarium to swim with all the fish, to getting hit by a car in the parking lot, to literally being eaten by a tiger, you can see where the reluctance to take him comes in.
Seriously.
Last time I took both the boys, Jonny got sick and had to leave after half an hour while Jonah went full meltdown mode. I had to carry him all the way back to the car screaming and flailing.
Both kids ended up having a meltdown when we finally made it to our vehicle. Jonny has sensory issues when Jonah is screaming so he started screaming too. Jonah refused to buckle his seatbelt or indeed even sit in his seat. I had to physically hold Jojo in the front seat until the meltdown subsided.
We sat like that in the parking lot for 2 hours until Jonah finally calmed down.
That was my last memory of taking both boys to the zoo together.
But that was over a year ago. I hoped that today things would be different.
At least Mama came with us this time.
The zoo was PACKED. My own anxiety started to rise when I saw the line just to get tickets to get in was 30-50 people long.
That whole “waiting in line” thing. It’s still a work in progress. I could actually visualize how the meltdown would occur (I do this a lot).
1) Jonah tries to cut in line.
2) I try to stop him and pull him back.
3) meltdown.
Or
1) Jonah tries to run in without a ticket.
2) I try to stop him and pull him back
3) meltdown.
I do this mentally about every second of every day that we are out in public with Jonah. I think avoiding a meltdown is actually the ONLY thing I really want to accomplish when we go anywhere.
But today, Jonah held my hand. Even when I just stood in line. Even when there wasn’t a huge obvious reward like going down a slide or zip line. He held my hand patiently.
Other kids started crying. It was a long time to wait. But today, Jonah was a trooper! Today, he waited with us.
Jonny wanted to go to a live animal presentation at the amphitheater in the zoo. It was more like a play, and we have been to it before… but never with Jonah.
He would have to sit still.
Quietly.
In his seat.
Not moving.
Yeaaaaah…
I told Mama that I would take Jojo elsewhere if anything happened so once again, off we went.
At first, Jonah wanted to go down on the stage. We purposefully sat at the top near the back for this very reason. Jonah kept trying to inch closer and closer down the stairs.
When I asked him to sit back down, he’d smile and inch further down. So I picked him up. This is usually when the escalation would start.
He hit me in the face a few times. Once pretty hard. I’m sure it drew some looks. But I held Jonah in my lap and put my hands over his hands until the show started. He seemed to calm down. He never even made a peep.
And that’s how we watched the ENTIRE half-hour show. He didn’t try to get on the stage again, He sat on my lap with me. Watching the show.
My boy.
After that, we ventured to the newly installed aquarium. This one is much better than the old aquarium. The old one had an open top and a short, waist-high barrier keeping people from falling into the 30-foot pool of ocean marine life including sharks. Jonah could probably climb that wall. Easily.
The open-top pool-of-potential-death was also circular with a walkway and a perfect set of stairs that made a perfect “lap” to run around the entire place for an Ausome little boy. And downstairs was pitch black. A perfect place for him to ditch me.
Yes. That old place is closed forever. THANK THE HEAVENS.
And the new aquarium is AWESOME. Its not all stuffed into a single pool now. Jonah held my hand as we went from each underwater exhibit to the next. He was actually interested in the marine life!
This continued even after we left the aquarium. We went and saw the elephants, the tiger, the monkeys, the penguins, the seals, the otters, pretty much EVERY exhibit.
He didn’t try to run away or elope ONCE.
You guys.
I had been dreading the next trip to the zoo for over a year.
I was prepared to run all day, with my only goal to just NOT LOSE HIM.
And none of that happened.
Its after 11pm right now as I write this and I am still in shock.
I think sometimes, life happens so quickly, we don’t even realize when we “turn a corner.”
Cuz… even though, we still have a lot to work on, we are leaps and bounds farther than where we were last year.
He waited in line. Like… a LONG line. He sat down at a “show” with us quietly for half an hour.
He didn’t try to run away. Not once.
“Today, We went to the zoo. And we had fun.”
I never thought I’d be able to say that.
#AllVictories