Adam Huening
August 13, 2008 03:07 pm
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As parents, we often want our kids to experience the happy and fun memories we formed as kids. Some of my earliest happy times revolved around our family’s trip to the Cincinnati Zoo.
My grandparents always accompanied my family on these adventures. At the time, I thought my grandfather had a friend at the zoo who let us feed the giraffes bananas and the elephants peanuts. He probably didn’t have a friend, it was just the guy selling the food for the animals. It probably was a regular thing, but to me it was magical.
My earliest memories revolve around these trips - feeding the animals, seeing the famous Siberian tiger whose name escapes me, watching the gorillas chuckle after chucking a dirt ball at my mom, crying as my grandfather punted the dumb duck that bit me on the knee. These were happy times, glossed over and embossed with blissful nostalgia in my mind.
I wanted to share these joys with my children, even if they are still a little young. So, on Thursday, April and I took Amelia and Finn to the Indianapolis Zoo for the first time. It turns out, I might have been more excited than they were.
Amelia loves animals, often constructing rescue centers and makeshift zoos out of blocks for her menagerie of figures she keeps in a white sack and hoards with glee. I thought she would go nuts running from each exhibit with abandon and test my legs to keep up.
Instead, she tested our nerves. Let us discuss the value of naps. Amelia was so excited on the ride to Indy, she couldn’t fall asleep, even though we went during their nap time. Finn had no trouble snoozing and when we arrived at the zoo and plopped him in the stroller next to his sister, he was ready to go.
Amelia was already sleepy and cranky. She didn’t know what to make of the sea lions at first. Then, we asked her what she wanted to see. She picked the elephants, and we made our way to the Plains exhibit. From there it was a battle. When she spied the giraffes, she wanted to feed them, but there was a line, which made her upset. Once we finally made it to the long-necked giants, she was terrified. As five of them clamored around the deck they each lowered their heads to Amelia’s face and flicked their weird tongues. Amelia buried her head in my shoulder as I held her, declaring she was scared. I fed the giraffes, and they curiously tried to say hello. By this time, Amelia was in tears.
We made our way around the exhibit, seeing the tigers and the rhinos. She got to see the elephant who was shading her baby while they both ate hay. Amelia liked the baby but quickly wanted to move on to something else.
When she spied the rollercoaster, the merry-go-round, and the water park, her interest in the animals waned. We stopped for lunch, to her protests and, refreshed, ventured around to other areas.
Finn, however, was calm and collected. My wife and I took turns with each of them, trying to explain different things. Finn absorbed everything, happy to be a part and out of the house. His favorite thing was the jellyfish floating eerily in the blacklit tank and the shark area where you could pet the dog sharks. As I held him, that parental fear shot through me, and I envisioned him falling in, attacked by tiny sharks. I gripped him tighter and let him touch the water. The sharks, of course, would have to get through me.
He also really liked the penguins and tried to say it along with his mother as he watched them pop in and out of the water. Amelia liked the polar bears after she played with the water fountain.
Both of them, however, loved the underwater dome at the dolphin exhibit. The sun was shining through the window creating vast ripples on the carpeted floor. Finn crawled in and out of the ripples, trying to catch them while Amelia stared into the deep blue yelling for the dolphins. I felt sorry for the poor creatures, which swam back and forth upside down and right side up seemingly looking for a place to escape. It was loud in the dome, and I can only imagine how the water magnified the sound.
At the end of the day, both kids were exhausted. Amelia got her wish to forgo the animals and play in the water park for the last half hour, which I would say was her very favorite part. Finn got to play too, but it was too cold.
I don’t know if either of them will remember it and what exactly they enjoyed. I just know it’s not fair for me to raise my expectations and hope they experience things the way I did. The opportunity is what matters and how it is experienced is up to them.
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