A couple weeks ago, Brad and I had plans to go to the opera for a Friday night date. I was pumped. I have really missed being able to go hear live, beautiful, classical music as often as I did in school and this was a great opportunity. We even had a babysitter all lined up and ready to go. The morning of the opera I needed to run to the box office to pick up the tickets. Somehow, it was harder than usual to get a baby and a toddler in the car. They both had more than one dirty diaper, repeated crying fests, throwing up, blow outs; it just seemed impossible to get out the door. Eventually, they were clean and buckled in car seats and we could be on our way. Half an hour later, we were almost there, when I realized the diaper bag was still on the couch, which meant no wallet.
I wanted to cry. I may have cried. Okay, I cried. And then I felt the distinct impression that there was a reason it was so hard to pick up the tickets. Brad and I needed to attend the temple instead. I've been feeling that Brad and I should go to the temple together for several weeks, but there has always been something else that seemed more pressing. So I put it off, and off, and off. But here was a day where I had already pumped a bottle for Tommy and scheduled a babysitter. We needed to go.
And so we did.
Plan A would have been awesome. But Plan B is what I needed.
The next day we went on a long drive to find a bird (I forget the name) that Brad had never seen before. We had to go this particular weekend because the bird was just about to leave Arizona until next winter. We loaded up snacks, downloaded a couple movies on the tablet for Amelia, and went on our quest.
Brad never found the bird. We drove for hours. No bird.
I lie, there were lots of birds. Beautiful birds, big and small, one with a particularly stunning song. But not the bird we came to see.
But, we did find a petting zoo with ostriches, deer, lorakeets, and donkeys.
Plan A would have been awesome. But Plan B is what our family needed. We needed to spend time doing something we all enjoyed.
It's something I need to remember more often. I need to embrace all the Plan B's and what they can offer my family. Plan B may not be my first choice, but it doesn't make it second best.
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| Amelia was a little hesitant at first. |
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| But she figured it out. |
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| Tommy spent most of his time in the stroller. He was very patient with us, even though he was pretty shaded and couldn't see much. |
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| Amelia loved the parakeets that landed on her seed stick. |
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| She thought it was so fun to drop the food down the tube and watch the ostriches dive for it. |
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| You can see the ostrich throwing the food down his throat. |
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| The bird boy totally in his element. |
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| I was impressed with everyone's ability not to freak out when birds landed on their backs, shoulders, heads, etc. Even Tommy had a bird land on his head and didn't cry. |
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| Always becomes super obvious I need to cut my bangs when I see pictures of myself. |
