A little bit of this and a little bit of that....

My almost 18 year old left for prom a few minutes ago and he looks so happy. That feels like the ultimate success of this whole parenthood thing. A new stage of being his mom is about to begin as he is about ready to leave the nest. I'm finding myself thinking about some of what has led up to letting him go...

-513 bazillion boxes of cereal...like seriously SO much cereal

-at least 58 school projects that were put off until the night before they were due

-birthday parties...so many birthday parties

-drop offs and pick ups and a LOT of waiting...for practices and games and award ceremonies and school functions

-hundreds and hundreds of hugs and kisses and miles of running him down to give them to him 😉

-a lot of "I'm sorries" because giving and accepting apologies is one of the most important things that we'll ever learn to do...everybody makes mistakes but not everyone learns to accept responsibility for themselves when they make them

-a few vaguely inappropriate slideshow presentations with subject matter such as black lung

-...and a WHOLE lot more

The hubs got our $.70 tickets to the Knoxville Zoo today so I'll take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the entire zoo experience. It is absolutely one of my most favorite places to go and not JUST for the ANIMALS...it's also a fantastic spot to observe the courting rituals of modern-day North American Homosapien (human beings).

I am convinced that a super secret Dating Single Moms for Dummies book surely exist which states that men must take their single mom date and her little cubs to the zoo in order to demonstrate his potential future mate capabilities. I've saw this similar scenario too many times to believe that it doesn't.

Zoo keeper leading an undercover tour: To your left notice the male homosapien attempting to demonstrate his ability to support the female and her cubs in a ritual meant to prove his ability.

Male: *checks reflection as he walks past reptile house window...looking good he appears to be thinking*

When suddenly....

*toddler drops sippy cup and full tantrum ensues...5 year old climbs into the rino enclosure...12 year old rolls her eyes*

Female: Wow. They NEVER act like THIS. *laughs awkwardly while shifting eyes to the left then to the right while toddler is shoving a chicken nugget in her ear*

12 year old: *rolls her eyes*

Male: *plucks 5 year old out of rino enclosure just before the rino charges*...says something inappropriatly mundane for such a situation like.... "Whoa there buddy!" while stiffly patting the top of his head...then asks 12 year old if he can treat her to an ice cream cone.

12 year old: *rolls eyes*

The situation repeats itself 17 more times throughout their day.

Male: *limping out of zoo...walks past window...notices that he's aged 30 years in the last 3 hours...asks 12 year old if she had a good time*