field trip

It'd been "like a hundred weeks" (according to the elder lad) since our last visit to the aquarium, so this morning we made the trip with a "schoolmate" of his (as my lad refers to his friend) and the lad's family -- neighbors of ours, it turns out.  Orchestrating a field trip of this scope takes some doing, though I do find the aquarium far more manageable than the zoo.

The greatest challenge lies in handling the excitement the lads feel before we leave the house while trying to check things off my list to get us ready to go, as this can quickly dissolve into bickering or other unruly shennanigans when the lads are keyed up to go but it's not yet time.   I do try to involve the bambini however I can -- them packing snacks, taking their dishes to the dishwasher, brushing teeth, gathering stuff, etc.  And I try to prepare as much the night before, but there are still some things that can't be done until the morning of.  Still, let's just get going already!

Finally we roll out with our theme song "Big Field Trip" by Justin Roberts queued up on the iPod.  We review our going-out-in-public safety procedures:

Me: "We stick together at all times.  But if we get separated, who do you look for?"
Elder lad: "a worker."
Me: "And if you don't see a worker, who do you look for?"
He: "a mama with small children."
Me: "And what do you say?"
He: "Please help me find my mama."
Me: "Do you leave the building with her?"
He: "No." 

Right on, dude.

(I've also tucked notes into his pocket and that of his brother's reading "My mama's name is Bonnie.  Her phone number is...")*

With great jubilation we pile out of the Bambini Ride and greet our neighbor friends.  Thus begins the heightened state of awareness wherein the two mamas among us take mental (and digital) pictures of the bambini (six in all, one slung on my hip) and continually scan the scene to keep them all in view.  I understand they've been renovating the shark exhibit, but I really can't recall too many details of the changes, as I didn't pay that much attention; I can, however, describe in detail what each child in our group was wearing.

Both lads handled themselves so well on our outing.  I made sure to tell them this, and that because of this I was inclined to take them on field trips again.  The elder lad beamed at this news.

Favorite parts?

• elder lad: the horseshoe crabs
• younger lad: the squid
• Mama: the countless "look at that!" declarations and accompanying expressions of wonderment on the lads' faces (and similar pre-verbal outpourings of excitement from the lass)

These field trips take a lot out of us, but they are well worth the effort when the bambini have such a good time.  The rest of the day was kind-of low key until happy hour (and by that I don't mean drinks with the girls).  Good thing the weekend is upon us!

With several such field trips in the "bank of experience," I'm learning how to manage the preparations and kid-wrangling aspects such that the true joy of seeing the bambini's delight can be my focus.  That alone makes it all worthwhile.

*These child safety ideas I gleaned from Gavin de Becker's Protecting the Gift.