My two oldest girls start school tomorrow - 4th grade and 1st grade. Today, our last summer day together, got off to a rocky start. I was trying to do some things on the computer. They were whiny and needy. We'd had two meltdowns by 10:30 and I could feel my own meltdown coming on strong. I decided that this was NOT the way I wanted to spend my final day of summer vacation with my girls, so I offered to take them to our local science center. They all agreed, we ate an early lunch, and then we were on our way.
Well, it didn't quite go as well as I had hoped. For starters, the little one has never been super fond of animals, but has also never been scared of them - until today. When we saw snakes, lobsters, and tiny sharks - all very safely contained, of course - she screamed and clung to me like saran wrap. Then we headed out to see the outdoor animals. However, by 1:00, cooler temperatures and the pleasant breeze from earlier had completely disintegrated. It was a very sunny, somewhere in the 90's, walk around the outdoor animal exhibits. The little one whined and cried the e-n-t-i-r-e time. The older two actually attempted to study the animals, but, of course, 75% of them were hiding from the heat and could barely be seen.
Less than two hours after arriving (and $30 in admission down the drain) we were all ready to leave. I tried to salvage the intended fun by stopping for ice cream, but even that seemed a rather anti-climatic.
There is a one small benefit that I can glean from today's failed attempt at quality time, though. My memory of this day may not be stellar, but it will make me a little more thankful when I hear the alarm clock early tomorrow morning signaling the start of another new school year!! :)
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