The special days

Life with a baby is very consuming.  So many diapers and feedings, attending to cries, trying to keep up on laundry.  Balancing work with a baby.  It's hard enough when the baby is your only one.  But if you have more kids, they need just as much from you in different ways.

Jude has truly been the best big brother.  Honestly.  My sweet little boy posesses all the characteristics of a good person.  An old soul and the age of 3 1/2, he posesses empathy, sensitivity, and is genuine and kind.  We have yet to experience the horrible obstinance and temper flare-ups associated with his age group.  Sure, every once in awhile he loses his mind over something.  But all in all, he is simply a really good kid.

I make it a point to escape once in awhile with my sweet boy.  We go out and we do something together, whether it's an adventure walk around the neighborhood, a trip to the zoo, or a drive through Starbucks to go get a coffee for myself and a Horizon Vanilla Milk for him- I make it a mission to have some alone time with him.  He might not appreciate it as much as I do, but it's a chance for us to reconnect.  To escape the sometimes demanding jobs we have of being an older brother and a mom of two.

Saturday was a day we got to escape for a couple of hours just the two of us.  We decided to leave Luca at home playing with Daddy and sneak a quick trip to the zoo aquarium and butterfly garden.  It was a great day filled with a gazillion of Jude's questions.  He is especially fascinated with what animals eat- the gorier the better.  I'm not sure he is so much interested in the gore, he just wants reassurance that the animal doesn't eat kids.

Me: "That's a Honduran Milk Snake."

Jude: "What does he eat?"

Me: "It says here they eat slugs, insects, crickets and earthworms."

Jude: "But does he eat kids?"

Me: "Nope.  No kids."

(Races to the very next display)

Jude: "Whoa!  What is THIS?"

Me:  "It's an African Bullfrog. It eats insects, small rodents, reptiles, small birds."

Jude:  "But does he eat kids?"

Wash, rinse, repeat.

I'm sure I'll be confronted in this new DOES HE EAT KIDS? phase with Jude about an animal that does, in fact, eat kids if presented the opportunity.  I think I need to figure out a response to that one.  My little worrywart won't like the straightforward honest answer of "Yup, that one eats kids!"

The best part of our escaped time together isn't so much the seemingly big events of the day.  The best are the small, inconsequential moments.  The joy of kicking soccer snowballs all through the zoo parking lot on the way to the car upon leaving.  The shrieks of pure delight as muddy snow ricochets about, Jude breathless with delight as he does the things that boys do best. 

And I smile and close my eyes for one second, making a promise to myself that I'll never forget these small moments.  These special days.