Mother's Day Comes Early

After Tim's blessed announcement he was taking the kids to the zoo this morning, I, without hesitating: corralled the children upstairs to get them dressed; answered dozens of seemingly unending questions (Why do I have to wear a sweatshirt? What time does the zoo open? Do they have a octopus at the zoo? When are we leaving? Can I go play with Nathan? Why aren't you going to the zoo, Mommy? Can I watch a movie? Where is my other shoe? Moooooooom, Kayla won't give me my shoe!); packed one diaper bag with one pull-up, one pair of princess underwear, baby wipes in a ziploc sandwich size baggie, an extra hair clip, ponytail holders, one dirty I Love My Aunt bib--which found its permanent home when I babysat my niece, a large plastic ziploc baggie just in case, two extra outfits and one pair of socks; stuffed a cooler full of peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches (some cut in triangles, some cut in squares, some cut into 16 pieces, and some not cut--all with the crust on--I drew the line), individualized baggies of pretzels, 2 lucky charm fruit snacks (boy), two princess fruit snacks (girl), some random Nilla wafers found in the pantry--opened for god-knows how long and probably soft and mushy; fixed Kayla's hair (because you know I don't know how to do it), jammed the kids into their car seats because hey, look, Mommy will chase me if I run away; smeared sunscreen onto their too-small noses; placed too-big fishermen caps on their heads; waved and yelled "Have a fun time" to their smiling faces as the car gave way to a silent house.

I can see it in the headline of tomorrow's paper:

"Mother's Day Comes Early: Zoo Adventure Gone Awry."

Yesterday, faithful husband and committed father blessed his wife by taking the children on an adventure of sorts. Stacey Gonzales, 30, wife and graduate student was pleasantly surprised when her husband woke up and unselfishly announced the ensuing trip to the zoo. He knew this would absolutely give her the time and space she needed to finally finish writing her research paper or updating her blog. After returning from a perfect spring day at the zoo, he was shocked to find her body limp on the couch. Fortunately, just as young TJ rushed to call 911 (our thanks to Skylar), Stacey turned over just in time to answer the question, "So, what's for dinner?"