My New Friend in Denver
Fortunately, the latter was much more common than the former, and she was a great kid overall, but hey, she’s two, that’s just how things go with ids her age.
After my uber-stressful two months in Tucson, relaxing at my friend’s house in Denver was a treat, and playing with her kiddo and kitties was a win-win-win. We stayed up late talking, sneaked in a movie while the small one was napping, and generally ignored all of our technology and responsibilities to enjoy each others’ company.
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
We tried to convince the small one, AKA Katie, to go to the geology area, as we wanted to see the rocks. However, she kicked and screamed and created a colossal ruckus, and generally made our lives a living hell, until we turned around and headed to the space area, where she wanted to play.
Thank God for shoes designed to make cute little squeaking noises with every step, so that when your toddler sprints off like a bat out of you-know-where, you can walk straight over, catch them and scoop them up before they bring themselves into mortal danger, as toddlers are wont to do.
Space – The Final Frontier
They had tons of stuff for the little kids that I’d never seen before – special areas for under-five-year-olds with space suits, fuzzy things to play with and kiddo-sized knobs to turn, levers to pull and buttons to push. I saw them safely ensconced there and then wandered around the space area entranced with the rotating 40 lb (18 kg) each Jupiter and Earth’s moon, gorgeous photos and kid groups running around everywhere.
Ahh Science, how I love thee.
Prehistoric Journey
At that moment a harried thirty-something woman plodded wearily past, trailing far behind six rambunctious middle-school boys yelling, running and punching each other as they tore their way through the museum. The woman resignedly attempting to keep up with them turned to me with a tired smile and commented as she passed: “hey, my job is the same as yours. But I have to do it with six of them.”
Well, I didn’t envy her that particular job, but the dinosaurs were so beautiful!! They had exquisitely life-like dioramas with careful attention to every detail, massive full skeletons spread across the entire area, and other smaller things between, with phenomenal integration of it all.
Leaving the Museum
Then we exited the museum and realized it was a glorious day. The crisp clean air, the exhilarating natural areas around the museum, and the cooperative weather revitalized us and filled us with the energy to pack up the car and drive away into the distance.
Lunch is Served
I was utterly impressed with my friend’s preparedness, knowing exactly what her kiddo would want and when, and how to keep her engaged and busy and enjoying life and sneaking in tons of learning about the world. I made so many mental notes today I’m going to have to install a new filing system to keep track of it all in my brain. Well done, friend-mom!
Oh Airport, How I Love/Hate Thee
We did succeed, and it wasn’t as bad as we feared. The small one stayed asleep, and didn’t turn into the angry cranky monster that we feared she would. The roads had not yet frozen, so uneventfully, they dropped me off, collected hugs, and I was off into the sleety sunrise a couple hours later as they headed back home.
I had to try five different check-in machines, then call one of the attendants over to help after they all failed. He argued with me for 20 minutes over my ticketing and my lack of a Chinese visa, and made me feel like an idiot. However, China was never my final destination, and he was simply in the wrong. When he finally figured that out, he grudgingly fixing up my boarding passes and vaguely motioned me to get out of his face, pointing in the wrong direction. A decidedly unimpressive start to my first international First-Class journey.
The actual on-board part of the first-class journey was fantastic, though, and worth every erg of effort it took me to get the tickets, but I’ll share about that later.
Until next week!