Stimulation

We're back from Philadelphia! We had a short, but fun visit with our friends BNB and their little Peanut. I'll have reviews of the Please Touch Museum and the Philadelphia Zoo at some point this week. I've got a full schedule today and tomorrow, but I hope to get them typed up and uploaded with photos... and even a couple of movies. 

As for this post, I want to talk about something I always knew but which X-man illustrated in spades this week. My boy is a stimuli addict. He wants to see and do new things at all times, and if he doesn't do it when it's on his schedule, he gets a bored and unruly. 

I've noticed on days when we stay at home, if we've been at home too much lately, he starts to whine and misbehave. But if I take him over to a friend's house, or we go to a museum or even to the flipping grocery store, he usually adjusts his mood.

So yesterday was a huge day of stimuli. He woke up in a happy mood and went downstairs with me to play with the airplane and bus that I picked up for him at the museum store. B offered to make waffles (and she does a gorgeous job), but X-man, who usually LOVES waffles, made it clear he wasn't interested. And he turned really grumpy.

So, we helped clean up and got our stuff packed into the car and said our goodbyes and drove to the Philadelphia Zoo. The minute we were through the zoo gates he was a different child. He was running from exhibit to exhibit asking the names of all the animas that he didn't know (pygmy marmoset, etc.) and saying, "Hello!" And then describing everything in the animals' habitat and each animal's activity level. 

"Mommy, lemurs are sleeping!" 

"Mommy, bats are eating fruit!"

You get the idea.

After the zoo we went to the airport and checked in the rental car. X-man was describing the different cars. Then he helped lug his closed stroller over to the Hertz bus, handed it to me, climbed on board and sat down near the back of the bus. And he stayed seated the whole time.

The airport was deserted in mid-day. But he waited in line patiently while we did the self check-in and he was an ace about going through security, even when he had to put his shoes, coat, blanket and toy plane into a bin. 

We ate at a McDonald's that time forgot, which was in some kind of management upheaval. Huge drama going on with animated staff. But X-man had his hamburger and fries and chocolate milk and was STARING out the window at the airplanes. He'd count them in English and in Spanish. He'd announce when buses or trucks would arrive. He called the luggage carriers trains. 

Then we went to our gate where we had a LONG wait due to weather in O'Hare. But he and I played trains and airplanes and cars and buses for 2 hours. We listened to some military folks chat with some new recruits. It was frightening. There was an 18 year old kid who was on his way to basic training. And the more experienced members were telling him what to expect. The kid's eyes kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And I kept thinking, "Was he a victim of predatory recruiting?" Because this kid had NO idea what he was getting into. He asked what I thought were basic questions to know before signing away your life. 

He was upset about the getting up at 4:30 a.m. He was upset about taking classes. The guy told him that anything he saw on TV was sensationalized and that it's really easy and not scary to go through basic training. And then 5 minutes later he told the kid that when he got off the bus they would start screaming in his face and take his stuff and ridicule him and not to take it personally and to just let it happen. It was met to "shock him." 

And all I could picture was "An Officer and a Gentleman."

About 10 feet away were some active duty folks who were playing with kids in the terminal with a stuffed basketball. It was two men and a woman. They stuck together like a team, were very friendly with civilians, but also kind of quiet. Not at all boisterous like the guys taking in the young recruits. I kept wondering if they were going back to Iraq for a tour of duty. They were clinging to the life around them rather than boasting about the military.

Then we got on the plane... only to get to the end of the jetbridge and be told that O'Hare had just moved our flight time back two hours. So we turned around with an upset X-man saying, "Bring me a new plane! Bring me a new plane!"

So we found the children's play area and hung out there until we got back on the plane. He slept the whole way from Philadelphia to Chicago. And then we had 2 hours until our flight left (it was late) from Chicago to Champaign.

We got home at 10:30 p.m. last night. X-man was still wired, but MacTroll and I were pooped. I got him ready for bed, and we brought him in with us and all fell asleep.

Stimuli. All day. And our kid was an awesome traveler.