That’s what we all want to know, but Finn feels Jon’s absence most painfully. He cried so hard leaving the airport upon Jon’s departure, that I had to offer them a day at the zoo…which might not seem like a big deal, but was actually quite frightening. I half-hoped that we had passed the exit, but apparently Finn also knows how to spell “Zoo,” and corrected me when he saw the exit sign. So, I had to make good on my promise.

Amid sorrow-filled wails and lamentations, and Liam’s valiant attempts at consoling his twin, Finn Finally perked up when we turned off the road and headed into the zoo’s parking area.

The boys don’t like riding in anything but a train or the grocery store “race-carts” (which seem to no longer exist), so the prospect ahead of me was one that filled me with fear… The boys would be on foot, and I would be unable to split myself to chase two of them in a very crowded place. I am not really sure what happened at some moments, but I do know that they did an amazing job of staying relatively close to me, and at least coming back to me, and I would like to pat myself on the back for remaining relatively calm. We rode the train twice, we saw almost all of the zoo, we had lunch (they requested “corn dogs” which seems to be their new favorite since our trip to the Alligator Farm”), they even let me use the restroom (albeit with much messing about with the door and the lock).

I think that was one of a handful of moments in which I almost felt like an adult human mom. They were really tired when we were leaving, so I carried them both out of the gate and to the car. We celebrated all the way to the car by singing, my skipping, and Liam’s imitation of someone shooting two guns into the air (where he got that I have no idea). (Speaking of having no idea, I have no idea what that must have looked like, but I am certain it was funny. A very short woman skipping with the glee of accomplishment while carrying two large toddlers, has got to be something of a sight.)

It was a good day, despite Jon’s getting back on the plane. The boys ran themselves tired, saw lots of animals, got to pet, hold, hug, and kiss a gopher tortoise, and Liam only fell out of his chair and onto his face once–and was physically unscathed!

The boys are in their parroting phase, apparently, which means that we may go into hiding soon, as they will be telling the world my secrets… As Jon noted, you can get them to repeat anything, and they will repeat lots of stuff you didn’t think they heard. He also noted that if we ever “talk smack” about him, he will know just by talking to the boys.

We had such a good time while Jon was here, we don’t really know what to do with ourselves now. It is much easier to take the boys out when I have a captive in the house, than it is having to ask people if they can handle outings with us.

Though, maybe it is these hermit-like tendencies that bring on Finn’s blood-lust. He rediscovered his vampyric nature right after I tripped the 18-month old. Coincidence?

The kid is sneaky, and bit a child at the Little Germ while Jon was holding onto him. Not even Jon was aware of what had happened. The little boy that had been trying to climb the same object that Finn wanted all to himself was crying harder than a child would be if they had just had their feelings hurt. Finn was so sly that nobody would have known what happened until they got the child home; and then they might not have known it was Finn that did it…but I decided to check the kid out, and indeed, there was the perfect imprint (he bit hard) of Finn’s teeth on the child’s upper arm. I alerted the mother anyway, and now it is quite possible that we really won’t be allowed back to the Germ.

I guess I have to get used to seeing clusters of angry mothers gathered in the parking lot to talk about my daemonic spawn. But not even that can take away from the power, joy, and elation I felt at being able to go to the zoo, alone, with two toddlers and no strolley, and walk around there for three hours without them requesting to be picked up!

Pru