So, it does not happen nearly as often as it used to but we still make the trip on occasion. We packed up snacks and lunch and headeded for the zoo on a beautiful Sunday morning. We like to arrive when they open to have it more to 'ourselves' and as started out a little brisk, that delays the arrival of many as well. The bag we carry in is often quite heavy with an abundance of snacks too. We try to stop often and 'lighten the load'.
So, our mission was to check out the zoo newbies. Unfortunately, we recently lost our old male lion and the komodo dragon. However, there is a new baby gorilla and a new baby sea otter that was recently rescued in Alaska....& we also heard a new black rhino is 'on the way'. We lucked out in getting to see all of them in this trip too. Jon and I spent some of our time reminiscing over how long and often we have been coming to the zoo. We certainly have watched the kids grow up there. When the boys crawled through the stingray tunnel, it really brought back remembering the times when they weren't sure they wanted to go through and we were not even able to see them pop their heads up in the corner halfway point. What a journey. It'll surely be a project for me one day to go back and collage the many trips and pictures we have in going to the zoo through the years. I don't really look forward to that day though in having less boys and more time on my hands...we are in no rush for that. Treasured time.
Shortly after our day trip, I learned that I have lost another dear friend very unexpectedly. He would totally be up there on my list of very favorite people to work with. I am also especially thankful for the many caring friends I still have at my former workplace who made an effort to reach out to me knowing this as well. You can certainly learn alot from an all around good guy, but at the same time, it is a heck of a blow and loss when a person is such a treasure to so many. I am not sure I have quite come to terms with this yet. Indeed, that is why I turn to pictures and posting...helps me work through it.
So here we are at May already, the last full month of school! We also have vacation coming up and we can even say it is as soon as NEXT MONTH...hooray in looking forward to more treasure times. MAY we appreciate what we can hold in our hearts, that which we are able to give to others and the ability to be cognizant of such treasures.
