How hard could it be? I mean, I do events for a living -- the stress, the inflexibility of timelines, the persistent need for a Plan B. You would think that if I can do that for a living, I can survive just about anything.
When asked to chaperone my daughter's first grade class on their field trip to the zoo? Well ... SNAP! No problem. Sign me up.
Yet here I sit just a few hours after returning home, practically in a comatose state of exhaustion. We really did have a lot of fun - we must have, for me to be this pooped. The girls I had - my daughter plus two others - embraced the spirit of Veruka Salt of Willy Wonka fame and proclaimed, in perfect harmony and perfect accent at each animal habitat: "Daddy, I want a hippopotamus. Not just any hippopotamus, one of those hippopotatmus! Daddy, you're not trying very hard." Then on to the flamingos, mountain goats, zebras, a bald eagle, and a passing chipmunk. It was rather hysterical.
But boy, am I tired.
I'll leave you with one last thought: God Bless the School Bus Drivers. Really, say a bedtime prayer for them all tonight. How that woman kept herself from driving headlong into a telephone pole just to put an end to the madness behind her, I dont know. And if you're listening, Ms. School Bus Driver, we sure do appreciate you taking out the prairie dog that was crossing I-25 in the interest of keeping our children safe. I barely felt the "bump."
