Saturday, April 4, 2015

Our "normal" trip to the zoo



  Every Saturday we try to do an activity together as a family. Thankfully my husband has weekends off and since we don't see him much during the week we are grateful for this time together. We had never been to the local zoo here yet with the boys and we had a coupon of course, so we decided to go. 

  We got there right when it opened,it was a beautiful day. We got started walking. We brought a double stroller for the boys just in case the zoo was too much. Immediately my boys wanted out of the stroller and walked to the exhibits all on their own.  They loved seeing the animals and being out in a new environment was an adventure for them.

  As we continued exploring the zoo and going from exhibit to exhibit I couldn't help notice something. My 3yr old Shane who has heart defects, wanted to take breaks and ride in the stroller. I probably wouldn't of thought twice about this if he was the only child . His 2yr old brother wasn't slowing down at all. When I offered the stroller to him when Shane would get in Jeremy refused. Jeremy has a healthy heart. He didn't stop once wanting the stroller till the very end when nap time over took him.

  Of course I knew Shane had heart defects. We suffered with hospital visits and surgeries his first year of life. I always knew he gets a little more fatigued running around our house. SO why did Shane's frequent need to sit in the stroller surprise me so much? I guess it's because as the appointments get few and far between I "forget"? I also see him as a young boy now and not a baby who's activity level is quite different now! As Shane grows his precious heart is taking on more and I'm learning his new "normal" activity level. 

  These moments In life I want to be "normal" and for the most part they are. It's just a reminder once again of my sons fight with CHD in infancy and daily with every heart beat he takes. I hate being reminded of more open heart surgeries to come and think of the pain he will be in, the caution in his daily activities he will need to take. I'm grateful his condition is "fixable" and that he will continue on and be with us as long as he is monitored by doctors. Shane will always be behind his younger brother in energy level, but that doesn't mean he can't just take a break and continue on like Shane does. We still had a great time at the zoo no stroller ride will stop that. I will soak up these times as much as I can. I love being these boys mom.


Emily😃


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