Long-Term Memories

As Moodle gets older, we're starting to see long-term memory kicking in. And we couldn't have seen it if we didn't relax occasionally, and do something fun, memorable, and out of the ordinary. I mean, sometimes she spontaneously waxes poetic about waffles, but we eat waffles for breakfast pretty regularly.

A few weeks ago, we bought a membership to a Children's Museum in our nearest big city. It's about 1 hour and 20 minutes away. The membership included unlimited free carousel rides. While we had fun in many exhibits, the carousel and the "fun, fast horsies!" made a big impression on my daughter.

On Sunday morning, Moodle sat down next to me on the couch, and started asking if we could have "fun". "Sure, sweetheart. What would you like to do?" "Fun, fast horsies! In a circle! Round round! Fun!"

I made no promises at that point, but why argue? She was recovering from her latest ear infection, being well-behaved, and we hadn't been out all weekend. Plus, Max Powers had been gone all last week for work, and then all weekend for an annual engagement in his hometown. When she finally took a good nap, I called him up. Since he was driving home through the city, we made plans to meet there. Not only would she get to see the horsies, she would get to see Daddy an hour earlier than she would have otherwise.

She got up from said good nap, and we quickly left to make the drive. She was well behaved until the last ten minutes ("Up! UUUUUUuuuuuuUUUUUuuuup!") We parked, recovered her shoes and socks (flung off as part of the self-amusement process), and headed straight for the carousel.

While she still hasn't worked up the courage to ride a horsie, she had a blast. We alternated carousel rides with the games and mazes that surround it. And when Daddy showed up, the first thing she did was drag him on the carousel. While they rocked a bench, I rode a horsie where she could see me, and snapped this pic.

She was right. Totally worth the return trip. And the membership meant I didn't stress over only being there for two hours. While we drove longer to get there and back than we actually spent in the museum, I'm sure it's not the drive she'll remember.