It goes without saying that Ellie, Ethan, and I make a lot
of trips to the Kansas City Zoo. While the total tally of trips has been a
little less than in prior years, we're still getting our money's worth out of
our zoo pass. For the most part, our zoo trips revolve around seeing some animals
and the occasional train ride. Why else would someone go to the Zoo? For Ellie
though, her opinion on why one should go to the zoo may have changed just
slightly after today's visit.
Today's zoo trip was special as the kids and I weren't going
by ourselves. We would be joining my college friend, Brendan, and his two kids,
Matthew and Anna, for a fun-filled morning. After meeting Brendan and his kids
inside the polar bear exhibit for brief introductions, we began our trek around
the zoo.
While Brendan and I took the opportunity to catch up, I
noticed pretty quickly that Ellie was quite smitten with 5-year-old Matthew. Since
it's been a rarity for her to hang out with other kids during the COVID-19
fiasco, I initially just chalked it up to her being excited to see someone her
own age. As the day went on, their interactions became, dare I say, a little
cuter/more threatening.
Starting in the penguin house at snack time, the two sat
side-by-side watching the penguins swim as they munched on their snacks. Next
on our list was the elephant exhibit where on the way, Ellie and Matthew spent
time jumping up and down in a misting station together. Hardly threatening
stuff yet but we're getting there.
Next, we found ourselves wandering towards the Discovery
Barn to see the sloth and the lemurs. On the way there, Ellie and Matthew found
themselves riding a tiger together for a quick photo op. By the way, I should
mention that this was not a real tiger, just a statue. Even more threatening
than the plaster tiger was the big, smitten smile plastered on my daughter's
face. Danger, Danger, Danger!
Next was a quick detour at the kangaroo lookout for lunch
where Ellie and Matthew once again sat side-by-side eating their lunch
together. The two even decided they were done with lunch at the exact same
moment and were ready to run off together. However, Brendan and I put a stop to
that long enough for us to join them. Little did I know that the biggest threat
was yet to come.
As we walked past the tigers on our way to the orangutans, I
looked back and saw something that inspired an "Awww" reflex but also
brought feeling of sheer dread and terror. My daughter...my little girl...my
dear Ellie...was holding hands...with...a...boy!!! Not only that, but they were
both smiling while doing so. Just a few moments later, Ellie, apparently having
worked up a lot of courage, asked Matthew, "Are we friends?".
Matthew, for his part, would pause and reflect on the question for a few
moments before replying, "Yes, we are friends!".
There you have it. After endless zoo trips consisting of
just Ellie and I (and a few more including Ethan), I now find myself as her
second favorite man at the zoo. Who knows; I might even rank behind Ethan on
her list of favorite men at the zoo. Once the time came to leave, Ellie even asked
me when she could go to the zoo with Matthew again. The audacity of that girl.
After all I've done for her.
Ok, it's decided. From here on out, Ellie will spend the
rest of her childhood locked in her room. Maybe I'll let her out when she's
18...or 21...or 30. We'll see. #DaddyWrite
**For the record, a large percentage of this post is written
in jest. I'm guessing you already knew that though.
 |
| On a positive note, Ethan hasn't abandoned me to hang out with some girl yet. |
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