Tag: 2012

Independence Day at the Zoo

We headed over to the Zoo for July 4th.  It was hot, but it worked well for us to go in the morning then splash around in the fountains for a while.

We looked at the birds, but skipped the reptiles.  We caught Farley, the sea lion, and his show.

Then we visited the kangaroos and wallaby.  I had walked into the habitat before, so I was hoping to do that again.  The keeper gave us a brief talk, so we just sat and listened.

We looked at the alligator swamp then the elephant quarantine area.  We played in the dung beetle playground.  (Oh, like you haven’t done that before.)  We stopped at the elephant sprayer for a quick refresher.  At this point, there was some “Mom, do I have to?” going on.  Oh yes.  It’s almost here.

And finally, we hit the fountains.

Because we’re members this year (we alternate between the Zoo, and the McWane Center), I don’t feel bad about going for an hour and a half and only seeing a few animals.

My Dream

I used to remember my dreams when I woke up, but in the last few years, I haven’t been able to. Last night was different. I had a nightmare.

I dreamt that I was driving somewhere in the country – think on the way to Smith Lake. Samantha and Ellie were in the backseat. Something happened to Sam and she needed to change her clothes. I pulled onto a side road. I got out and got Sam out (and Ellie was somehow out too). We changed her clothes and were getting ready to get back in the car. I had walked around to the other side of the car to put the spoiled clothes away and to put Ellie back in her seat.

At this point, a woman came from out of the neighboring field. She was wearing rags and had a huge nose and pointy teeth. She looked like a wolf and was carrying some weeds in her hand. She asked Samantha “Do you want to look at this gridlock?” Sam started to walk towards her and I think that something is wrong. I say “No, Sam.” But, being the 4 year old that she is, she kept walking. I keep saying “No!” using my most stern tone. (It’s the one I always remember using when she got too close to the street at our other house.) When Sam got close enough to WolfWoman, WolfWoman snatched her and started running away from the road.

At this point, I scream. But, of course, nothing comes out. I think to myself “Oh no no no, this is not going to happen to me now.” So, I keep trying to scream and get my plan together. I’m going to get Ellie in the car, lock it, grab my phone and take off towards WolfWoman.

I’m still trying to scream though until Brian wakes me up. I was breathing rapidly, my chest was pounding and my adrenaline was out the roof. Brian rolled over and went back to sleep and I was left to fear. I didn’t want to close my eyes to go back to that woman, or maybe I couldn’t since I was in a heightened state. Either way, it took me quite a while to calm down.

I thoroughly enjoyed my hug this morning from Sam.