[I’m headed out on a business trip for a week, so the next daddy tale won’t appear until 2/20. Since the last tale was kind of depressing, I thought I’d take us all to a happier place.]

A month or so ago, C had a birthday party to go to and his little brother wasn’t invited. J’s cunning plan was for N and I to hang around the house until they were done with their party, and then we could meet them in a park or something.

Yeah, right.

N and I left the house before they did, on our way to the Animal Kingdom. This was the first time that he and I had a chance to go just by ourselves.

Have you ever had one of those days where everything goes right? This was it.

The weather was in the mid to low 70’s, which is perfect for the park because all the animals are out and active. We saw more animals that day than I’d ever seen at the park before. Even the male lion was out sitting on his rock and looking regal.

I opted for the no stroller approach, figuring that he could walk or ride on my shoulders. At first he was a little hesitant, wanting to hold my hand. After a few exploratory separations, however, he relaxed and had a blast. As we walked the safari, he ran from exhibit to exhibit, stopping at each one and calling me over (”come! come!”) Sometimes we just stood looking at an animal for ten minutes or so, talking about it. The tigers were particularly impressive. They were out and standing right at the glass, watching the people. It actually was a little daunting, but N ran right over and tried to pet one. Of course, the glass was in the way, so he patted the glass, saying “tiger” and “raowr!”

When we got to aviary, he was pretty much stunned. He loves birds. He ran around for a little bit, pointing them out (”bird! bird!”) and then walked over and climbed up on a park bench. Looking over at me, he held out his hand and said “come! come!”

I wasn’t sure what to make of this, but I went over and sat on the bench next to him. We sat for a few seconds before I couldn’t take it any more. I asked him if he was alright.

He looked up at me and said “happy. happy. So happy.”

Me too, little guy, me too.