Sometimes My Expectations are Too High

I am starting to realize that I have unrealistic expectations. Expectation is a very difficult thing for me--I expect a lot from myself, others, food establishments, public restrooms...needless, to say I am often disappointed. I know that I should just get over it, but it has always been a problem for me. I will probably deal with this for the, well, I was going to say the rest of eternity, but it is likely that I won't make it far enough in this life to have to worry about that.

So my latest expectation was Friday afternoon. Jeff and I took the kids to the zoo. It was supposed to be 60 degrees-very sunny. We got there and the wind was blowing, it was completely overcast and the kids never slept a wink the entire drive (i.e., no naps). I was already crushed. (see what I mean??)

Despite the questionable weather conditions we headed out. I had been really talking up the whole experience and I was certain that the kids were going to love it. Well, apparently, the zoo is a terrifying experience. The torture began shortly after Jeff petted a FAKE, BRONZE statue of an elephant and it had an internal sound system that let out a loud, "honk!" Lachlan literally turned around and started running for the main gates. I hate to admit it, but it was hilarious! Her fear continued all the way to the Feline Habitats. As you can see, she is running from this bronze tiger (I placed her next to it to get a cute picture). The hits just kept on coming, literally, because Jack smashed his head into a marble sculpture. It didn't leave a mark because it was already a spot on his head that was previously bruised from a prior incident. And last, but not least, the train...Lachlan's favorite book is the "Little Engine That Could" so I thought for sure it would be a big hit. Jeff asked her, "Did you like the train ride?" Her response, "No, scary". The photograph is quite deceiving because it was taken pre-ride. So the question remains: What did they like?? Well, this waterfall. We actually looked at it more than any other thing in the park. Jack must have signed, "water," for 15 minutes. He walked around and actually pointed it out to several other children (who were obviously there for the animals), "wa, wa!" They also pointed out the water in the monkey cages, in the mountain lion pen, with the flamingos, giraffes, elephants, bears and several non-descript puddles within the walking route.

Let me tell you what saved the entire experience for me: Dinner with Becca and Bruce. Oh, sweet salvation. We had excellent Chinese food, fun conversation, ice cream and warm cookies--I drank two diet cokes with a chaser of Excedrin. It's a good thing that I'm a quick healer.