My wife loves to go to the Louisville Zoo. I think it's really her truest "happy place". Somehow, my wife is able to not only remember the actual names of the animals at the zoo but identify who's who. Now, to be clear, I don't mean That's an Asian Elephant" or "That is an Elephas Maximus", which is the actual scientific name of the Asian Elephant. No, she knows that particular elephant's given name (there was an Asian Elephant and I'm sure my wife knows its name. I do not.)
As such, my wife typically gets a membership to the Zoo every year so she can go whenever she wants. She has her usual time to go and I'm usually at home. The kids join her and they have a wonderful time. As I've been working on being more present with the family, I decided to forego my desperately needed sleep and go on the trip to the Zoo with them!
When we got there, the kids took me to see a globe that spins in water. It's been there forever, but they wanted me to see it so I did.
Currently, there is a series of sculptures of different animals around the Zoo by artist Sean Kenney (click his name to go to his website). The sculptures are made of Legos! Just regular, old-school Lego bricks. They looked so cool that I, armed with my camera, took a picture of most of them. (I missed a lawnmower and a flower that was in the window of the gift shop.) I mention this, not just because the artist gets a shout-out, but because I'll be sharing pictures I took of his art.
We decided to go right (as the Zoo is a giant circle) and started seeing everything from baby penguins to snakes to birds to, well, everything! I'll share some pictures here in this blog and more on my Instagram and Official Facebook.!
It was rewarding to be a part of things, you know? I feel like I've missed out on the simple joys of my family's life - for no particular reason - and it feels good to actively remedy that. The kids enjoyed my presence and that just reinforces that I'm doing the right thing just in time.
This morning my oldest son asked me to go on a walk with him and I said yes (and followed through). I have the greatest kids and I need to act like it.
Thanks for reading. Now here are the pictures I promised! Enjoy.
