Not the day we had planned

When you have children, you learn flexibility whether you want to or not. For a variety of reasons, our plans for our not back to school day were scuppered, and I eventually ended up taking the younger six to the Brookfield Zoo for a couple of hours. We had a nice time, the seven of us, and they are all anxious to go back, as there was so much we didn't see.

Maybe it was the weather, but I have never seen animals so active. We sat and watched rhinos run and chase each other for a good long time. Also, for those who have visited the Brookfield Zoo, does anyone else feel as though they have walked into a live version of the computer game, Zoo Tycoon, when you are there? At least no one locked the gates while we were there and let all the animals out, which is what my older children enjoyed doing when they played the game when they were younger. When I mentioned this at dinner, there was much moaning that we no longer had a playable version of the game. This and Oregon Trail were wildly popular and played all the time.

Tomorrow we start our usual school schedule. Some people are extremely excited. Some people have been begging me to begin school for weeks now. But, mean mother that I am, I have made them wait and wait. We'll see how long it is before the bloom is off the rose, and I am prying them all to the table in the morning.