It should have been a fun day at the zoo with Bethany, and if Bethany had been there, it probably would have been. Turns out Max was the one who showed up. She was terrible. She was defiant, disobedient, and just plan foul. For hours, she made us miserable as we tried to go through the usually peaceful Nashville zoo. Contending with the Old Woman in the Shoe and her umpteen kids-gone-wild was bad enough, but Max had to be a terror, too. Then, we caught up with a group that made the crew from Deliverance look classy. We would have turned around and walked out, but after spending $14 each to get in, we were determined to get though the whole thing.
So, there we were, hot, tired, and grumpy from dealing with a hot, tired, grumpy toddler as we arrived at the petting zoo. Here, the tide suddenly turned.
Bethany magically reappeared as we went through the gates. She took off to see the goats. Happily, she chatted with the caretakers and the goats, brushing and petting them for ages.
“I like dem goats, Daddy. Dem goats like me.”
“Yep.”
“I pet dem.”
“Okay.”
I wandered over to the llamas. What odd looking creatures. She’d get a kick out of these. So I called Bethany and Daddy over to see them.
“Come see, hun.”
“What are you looking at?” he asked walking over with her on his heels.
“Alpacas,” I answered.
“Come see the alpacas, Beth.”
“I wanna pet the owl peckers!” said Max, making a very loud reappearance.
“Sorry, kiddo, ” said Daddy, not missing a beat. “They don’t let you pet those. Come pet the llamas.”
The World According to Max 