Kangaroo Zoo

I should have entitled this entry: "Too Scared to Jump. Too Much in Love Not To."

For the first two hours a Kangaroo Zoo, I followed Marcelo around trying to provide moral support so that he could feel safe and go inside the jumpy things or the slide-y things. He was so excited to be there with the rest of the big kids, Becky's kids. He would run right along side all of them until the entrance to one of the bouncy things and jump in. Then, he would retreat and mope. He just could not get up the nerve to do it.

Becky, with her more kid friendly persona, got him to go up one of the small slides and come down. When he saw himself emerging from the mouth of the shark, evidenced by the giant pointy teeth hanging down, he freaked out. Maybe a pre-briefing session about the bouncy place would have been a good idea.

So after a couple of hours at this place, I was ready to go. A little disappointed Marcelo wasn't able to partake of as much fun as he could have had he not spent all his time running from one bouncy house to another and waiting outside. Suddenly, I look over to take inventory of the kids and I see THIS! (Yes, it's blurry. I could hardly get my camera ready on time).

He is going up the BIGGEST slide on the premises with his beloved Lydia. Lydia is Marcelo's ever-patient, sweet loving little muse. He would, clearly, follow her to the ends of the earth, walk across burning lava, submit himself to poisonous scorpion bites, ... well you get it.

Unfortunately, something happens at the top and he ends up plummeting down the slide like a sack of potatoes with the evil sorceress, I mean, Sofia directly above him with her metal, piercing sword-legs pointed at his spleen. Oh, the poor child. I cringe with anguish as I witness the calamity occurring before me but there is nothing I can do except continue to document the calamity in photographs. I have flashes of how he will be traumatized for life fearing anything to do with inflated structures, slides, and dragons.

As they disappear from sight, I run to asses the wreckage at the bottom and prepare myself for the bloody and mangled scene.

OMG.
Where is Sofia?
Where is the blood?
... and the body parts?
Wait, I still can't see his face.
I'm not sure I'm prepared for this.

I am shocked to see this looking back at me, literally, the biggest smile I have ever seen in my life. It's so big, his lips are getting sucked into his mouth. It's kind of scary looking.

But I was SO happy to see he had conquered his fear, (wasn't hurt), and had the biggest rush of his short life. All to be with his beloved Lydia.

The End