Zig Zag Zoo

One day I took Alex and Maxim to a kids’ place called Zig Zag Zoo. We were the only ones in the place. There are sections where the little kids three and under go and play, but because we were alone and there were no older kids around, I let Alex and Maxim go wherever they wanted.

Maxim and I discovered a black slide that was a tunnel. We went down together. As soon as we were finished, he turned to me and said, “Again.” So we climbed and climbed to get back to the top. Alex followed us and the three of us went down together. We all had a great time.

Then the boys spotted another slide that was also a tunnel, but it was in a spiral. The outside was marked like a tiger. So the boys wanted to go on the big tiger slide. I put Alex in front, Maxim in the middle and me at the end. We started to go down together and as the slide started to turn, Alex broke away from Maxim and me and started going down by himself. At the next turn, Maxim broke away from me despite my attempt to hold onto him. So now I am going down this slide, twisting and turning, watching my three-year-old and my two-year-old going from side to side. I made a silent prayer that they were okay as I hear them screaming, “Mommy!”

When the slide was finished, both of them looked terrified. I made sure they were okay and we continued to climb and have fun. We went back to the black slide and Maxim was a little reluctant to try it again. I was so proud of both of them. Because of the experience they just had with the other slide, they had the courage to get back and go on the other one.

At the end of the day, Maxim was focused on only one thing and kept repeating over and over, “Tiger. No fun. Alone. Scared.” (See the video below.) He made a point to keep telling me this.

When we were getting in the car to leave leave, both boys were talking about the scary slide and how that was not fun. I wanted them to focus on what was was fun and what they did enjoy.

I started asking them about the black slide and if they had fun. I asked about the merry go round and if they had fun. I told them to focus on what was fun and had them tell me those stories and experiences. This shifted their mood and changed their perspective.

What we focus on becomes our reality. Remember to focus on what is good and right in your life.

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