July 25 - The Importance of Information

We went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park with the family today. It's a gorgeous park full of giraffes and antelope, rhinos and lions, like a Cliff-notes safari tucked into the southern California mountains.

First on the agenda, we made a bee line to the Lorikeet enclosure, where you can feed colorful parrot-like birds breakfast from little cups in your hand. My sister loves this adventure so much we used to call them Lara-keets. Excitement was high!

Unfortunately, I failed to clue the kids, who had never been there, into what exactly to expect. So when the zookeeper handed Naomi a tiny cup of nectar, she automatically sipped it, which made the crowd around her giggle, instantly embarrassing her. No one had told her it was for the birds. No one had mentioned that we were going into big cage full of bright squaky things that would land on you all at once with their soft claws and curious beaks. Understandably, she panicked, and Skyler promptly refused to participate. It took some confusion and coaxing to bring them through the enclosure.

In hindsight, there were about 10 ways I could have made that a more rewarding memory. I could have made sure the kids were well fed before we arrived instead of just packing snacks. I should have assigned an adult to each kid. I should have mentioned some of the animals they would see and promoted the interactive experience. I might have informed them specifically that Lorikeets are friendly parrot-like birds that will perch on your hands and shoulders and head looking for food. Oh well.

The good news is that everyone survived, and Naomi can tell the story now and giggle about it. Plus she was the only one who got to taste the special formula bird food, just like the zoo keeper. She says it's kinda sweet, like soy milk.