"You Can't Call Your Local Target and Get an Elephant!"

I'm not a zoo person. In fact, I really don't think I ever went to the zoo as a child. There were none close by and I had no real desire to go. How things change when you have kids.

Jacob's thing is animals. It has been for years. He loves them all and we have an extensive collection of those expensive Schleich animals that run about $7.00 a pop to prove it. But he is particularly fond of safari animals, and he loves his elephants.

So each summer we plan a little zoo trip. We have hit all the zoos in the surrounding states. Being fair skinned and with a huge dislike for heat, I decided to get a jump start and plan our zoo trip a little earlier this year to take in the great Spring weather. After finding a day off from school connected to a weekend, we settled on this coming weekend.

We left it up to Jacob which zoo he wanted to visit. He picked one we hadn't been to since he was three. Surprisingly he doesn't remember it, so it will all be new for him. I welcomed the choice with it being one of the very best zoo's in the country and only a three hour drive. My husband labored over where to stay, and after many hours of searching for the perfect hotel, the plans were in place.



And then came Sunday morning.




"Hey, Jacob," My husband said, "Why don't we look at the zoo online and check out the map to see what animals they have."  Of course he didn't have to ask Jacob twice. He was in his element. As they settled in front of the computer, I quickly jumped in the shower knowing this would keep Jacob entertained for a while.

"Uh, we have a little problem," my husband informed me as I exited the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" thinking something had been ruined or spilled while I had showered for a few precious moments alone.

"The zoo doesn't have elephants." he told me.

"What do you mean, they don't have elephants? How can they not have elephants?" I asked.

Sure enough, the elephant exhibit is closed. Apparently a few years back one of the elephants passed away leaving one lonely elephant behind. So the zoo decided to send the elephant to be with other elephants, and they would create a bigger and better elephant exhibit to open in a few years. But not this year.

My husband and I were both thinking the same thing. "Now what?". We both know that there is no animal talk of any kind in our house without elephants involved. Anything animal related that comes into our house better have an elephant. If not, it is a no go.

Of course when I went to find Jacob he was upset. I tried to calm him and help him process a solution to this "big, big problem." In his mind it was a HUGE problem. And he was not taking it lightly. He was furious. I tried taking the approach of how sad that elephant would be if it was there alone, but for a child that has a hard time empathizing, even when regarding an elephant, he couldn't put himself in its shoes.

I got out a piece of paper so together we could write down our options. "I don't want to go!" Jacob said.

"Ok, so that is one choice," I said as I wrote down a number one with "stay home" behind it.

Apparently Jacob did not understand what it was I was doing and quickly snatched up my list, ran it to the garbage can, and threw it in the trash thinking "stay home" was the only choice. He was even more upset now, and the tears were coming quickly. We had discussed it in length already and I was over it.

Thankfully as Jacob went running to his room on the verge of a meltdown, my husband took over recognizing that Jacob was misunderstanding my intent. I could hear the continued discussion on how to resolve the situation and salvage our weekend plans. My husband patiently gave ideas. We could go to a zoo we have already visited. Nope. Not a choice, Jacob wanted to see a new zoo. We could go to a new zoo, but we would have a long drive or would need to fly. Again, shot down. There was no way Jacob was getting in an airplane. Although I did hear him inquire as to how long of a car ride it would be to California, and did they have hotels there? We could go to the zoo as planned and just be ok with it. Again, a big fat no.

The only plausible solution Jacob could come up with? Call the zoo!

Jacob insisted we call the zoo and demand they get an elephant. Over and over he kept pleading his case. If you know my son you know that persistence is one of his finer qualities. His grandpa says he will make an excellent attorney someday as he is relentless. He can go on and on breaking you down to where you just want the conversation to end. I now know why people confess to crimes they didn't commit as I have often just wanted the unyielding badgering to stop.

Finally, my husband had enough of Jacob's forceful demand for the zoo to get him an elephant. "Jacob, you can't call your local Target and get an elephant!"

I lost it and started to giggle. No matter how much I tried to hold it in, there was no stifling this laugh. If I would have had water in my mouth it would have shot across the room. I looked at my husband and he joined me. What made it so funny was the way he had said it, so serious and as if it was the most perfectly normal thing to say.  And somehow it changed the dynamics of that moment. The laughter cut through all the negativity and anger. Jacob's focus shifted to his breakfast in front of him, and the elephant talk subsided. Later that day, Jacob agreed that we would go ahead with our plans as scheduled.

This morning at breakfast, I tentatively asked if the zoo trip was still going to happen. Jacob replied, "Yes, mom. They do have elephants. They are in the gift shop!"

Looks like we will be buying an elephant after all.