Safari Champ

We went to a place called Safari Champ yesterday. It's an indoor play center that has a small play scape for toddlers 3 and under, and a much larger and more challenging play scape for the older kids. Boy, did it wear ME out!

Leela, I took you to the smaller play scape hoping that the small (and safer) red slide would keep you occupied at least for a little while, but as soon as you saw all of the big kids playing on the larger play scape, that's where you wanted to go. You would not have it any other way, so off we went to join the big kids. You were dwarfed by all of the big kids whizzing pass you in all directions, but you were not scared. You watched them carefully. You saw them walk across a tight rope. You wanted to do the same, and so you did. I was amazed. You walked it, one foot in front of the other, very carefully and very intently. If you fell, you got back up, and kept walking the rope until you made it to the other side. You were so proud of yourself every time you made it, and I was so proud of you, too.

Then, you became braver. You climbed up a 20 foot ramp into the play scape where I could not go. I was holding my breath and praying nobody would knock you down. I kept my eyes on you like a hawk. I could see you watching the other kids very closely. Then you went out of my sight, and the next thing I saw was you hanging like a monkey off of one of the tiered platforms. Your little legs could not touch the platform below, but you were stretching and point your toes as hard as you could to touch it. You were hanging a good two feet from the platform below. All I could do was yell "Let go!" and hope the padding would soften your fall. You finally let go and landed on your hands and knees, and you turned your head towards me with a huge smile on your face. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Every time you went back into the play scape I prayed you would not get hurt or stuck or go down the enormous green tube slide. I tried to keep my eyes on you as best as I could through that maze of a play scape above my head. At one point you disappeared from my sight for what felt like an eternity. I didn't know where you were hiding, but something told me you were looking down into that enormous green tube slide contemplating whether or not you should give it a go. And you decided not to. You came back into my sight and I breathed another sigh of relief.

You wore me out, Leela. And where was your brother during all of this? Strapped to my chest hoping he could also dive in with you. In a couple of years, Landon... a couple of years. It will be here before we know it.