Absolute Poppycock

If I had a penny for every time the girls have jumped into a body of water this summer, I’d probably have enough pennies to put in a pool in our back yard.  They are both water babies – swimming in any shape or form is a joy for them.  Seriously, right now, I think the only clothes they have that fit them are bathing suits, one church dress, and Gracie has a pair of running shorts (more on that later, but she’s decided she wants to be in the Olympics in 2016 when she’s 12…smile…).  This love of water probably isn’t a surprise to any of you, considering I have pictures of them at the beach swimming just about every month this year!  We’re going paddle boarding and kayaking this morning; they are so excited they could barely sleep last night. 

I guess this is probably the quintessential “when in Rome” situation.  We live by the water, so many things in our community revolve around water…it seems silly not to enjoy them all.  I’m glad my babies are soaking it all in!

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

William Blake

Abigail is a lot of things.  Stubborn may be at the top of the list.  Infuriating is right on up there, too.  She is willful, and stubborn, and says completely inappropriate things at inappropriate times.  Her current obsession is asking repeatedly why it’s impolite to stick up your middle finger.  She exhausts me on a hundred different levels.  But, oh my goodness does this little girl of mine have a zest for life.  Every single day is an adventure wrapped in a party wrapped in a celebration.  I just love her, completely, wholly, and with absolute abandon.  There really is no other way to love her – it is a roller coaster and the best you can do is strap yourself in and hold on for the ride.

I often wonder what my children will do with their lives when they grow up.  Of course, I’m sure all of my ideas will change as they grow and learn and in the end, whatever choices they make, I will love and support and encourage them.  But, it’s still fun to think about what they might be doing twenty years from now.  I imagine Gracie somewhere surrounded by intellectuals and books and lots and lots of debating.  She will be happiest, I think, somewhere that she can study and research and then talk, debate, discuss, and then talk some more.    Abigail, though, I always see surrounded by animals, particularly marine animals.  Steve and I have both said that we won’t be the least bit surprised if she ends up being a marine biologist.  She is fascinated by all the creatures of the water, particularly dolphins and sharks.  But, her love of animals doesn’t end at the water’s edge.  She loves dogs (except for pit bulls – that encounter two summers ago with the aggressive pit bull may have scarred her for life with that breed), and to a lesser degree, cats.  Birds, and bugs, and just about anything living is an object of interest to her.  One of her favorite places to go is the zoo. 

We visited the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo two days in a row last month (once for a field trip with Gracie’s class where Abigail was a tagalong and the next day with a field trip for Abigail’s class).   We had a great time!  While we were there, I remembered that they have animal encounters and when I got home the second day, I looked it up on the website and found out that were having baby tiger encounters.  Steve and I talked and decided that we would give Abigail a visit with the tigers as her preschool graduation present.  And, really, we just made that up as an excuse – we never really had any intention of giving her a preschool graduation present, but once the tiger encounter presented itself, we just went with it!  It wasn’t exactly cheap, but I’ve been going through this kind of shift in my mentality lately about wanting to spend less money on “stuff” for the girls and more money on experiences and trips.  A lot of this has to do with the current state of their bedroom, but a lot has to do with the nature of both my girls.  They both seem to enjoy trips and adventures more than toys or things.  We are lucky that there are so many free and inexpensive things available for us to do locally.  So, while I somewhat balked at spending the money on the tiger encounter, I justified it by telling myself that the bulk of things I do with Abigail costs very little.  Yeah, I know, I sound like I’m rationalizing.  And, I probably was until after the encounter.  Because, afterwards, I realized it was worth every single penny!

Abigail and I were able spend thirty minutes in an outdoor pen with two other people, the tigers’ handler, and Yeti and Kolkata, two 10-week old white Bengal tigers. I think Abigail was expecting teeny tiny babies that she could hold and cuddle.  If we’d done this earlier in the spring, that probably would have happened.  But, ten week old tigers are more like preschoolers than babies.  They romped and played and fought with each other.  While holding baby tigers would undoubtedly have been awesome, I think this was even better, particularly for Abigail.  She played with them, running around the pen, throwing toys for them, and laughing at their antics.  I think she giggled non-stop for the entire thirty minutes.  The highlight of the encounter, for her, was getting to help the trainer feed them.  It was adorable and Abigail felt so grown up and important.  It really was a special time for her and for me, too, watching her soak it all in. 

I am a true believer in “it’s the everyday, little things that make a life magical”.  Sometimes, though, extra special things are nice, too!