Let me paint you a picture: I am sitting in my sweats, on my living room couch, drinking a "naughty milk" as Mama Conway calls it (Bailey's and hot cocoa) and thinking about the craziness of this past week.
Leading up to Friday, I was busy planning and stressing about my classroom's first field trip ever. Figuring out chaperones, transportation, lunch, permission slips, fares, times, exhibits to see, etc. occupied my mind for four solid days. Then, the day finally came, and I was petrified my "Anti-Christ" kid would jump into the lion's den or I'd lose a kid or one of my nut allergy kids would touch something contaminated. But alas, we set out for the National Zoo.
My kids were adorable, yet scared, to ride the Metro. They held on to our hands tightly and proceeded to fit three to a seat because they all wanted to talk to us. Slight side note, the National Zoo is a bit of a walk from the Metro stop (a fact I didn't know so my kids were grumpy about it). We saw Cheetahs, baby Cheetahs, Gazelles, wolves, red pandas, giant pandas, elephants, all the monkeys in world, the reptile house and a SLUG (something we're learning about it science right now).
My chaperones were great and lunch eventually got figured out but the return trip was rough. My kids were exhausted and very grouchy about walking so far...it was not pleasant and I was also exhausted. BUT they seemed to enjoy themselves a lot and they talked about the slug the most (so funny that we go to the zoo and the animal they love the most is a slug). They talked about how big it was and used the vocab words we learned to describe the slug and they made predictions about whether the slug had a family and most importantly, they asked to return to the zoo so they could see the slug again.
From that point until now, I have been on the go...living out my elongated "weekend zoo", if you will. I went to my friend's all-female arm wrestling competition, helped a friend move on Saturday, toured the monuments at night on Saturday and then ran in the Color Run (5K race) today. It's been non-stop but when I think about the fun moments I shared with the amazing people I am blessed to know, I don't think of those moments on a grand scale.
They usually involve 20 minute conversations about the term, "turn your head and cough" or having dance parties while waiting to have our group called to begin the Color Run or trying to fix my friend's toilet or shooting Nerf guns at each other in my friend's apartment...it's the small things...it's the "slugs" that have me excited and leave me happy that I experienced it all.
As I think about the many ways I over plan my life and try to micro manage the big projects, I think about my kids. I think about their ability to find joy in the smallest and unexpected. I think about the silly little moments I've shared with them and with my friends that I cherish. Sure, the big things were fun too but it's the down time, the side conversations, the unplanned slugs that pop up when you're expecting to see an Orangutang that fills your soul and warms your heart. This weekend, within the craziness of life, I am most grateful for the unexpected slugs that came my way and my kids for reminding me the importance of those slugs.
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