The Day We Ran Away

We played hooky, we ran away. 

We left school books on the table and dishes in the sink. 

Daddy can't be home for most dinners or bedtimes, but he ran away with us too!

And it was perfect.

Little boys had no idea what was going on that morning when Daddy wasn't getting dressed in suit and tie and Mommy wasn't starting the school day.

We got bewildered kids dressed and loaded in the car.

We made a quick stop for some bagels and hit the road for Baltimore. 

And little guys who had no clue what was in store immediately celebrated when they realized the day that was ahead of them.

There was an aquarium to explore, jellyfish to touch, dolphins to play with, and turtles to chase. This was going to be the best day ever.

And it was. All of it, even Wils deciding to attempt a swim with the jellies. 

LilyMae fell in love with the fish, laughing and talking as they swam past her fingers. 

We stopped her short of giving kisses through the glass.

Jefferson, our quiet dreamer roamed the tanks in deep thought occasionally sharing his insights and observations. He sees everything. The sea turtle was his favorite. 

Wils ran like a wild man from tank to tank, shrieking and laughing, splashing, and getting lost. He hid from the sharks, and grabbed at the sting rays. The jellies were his favorite. 

Harrison casually took it all in with bursts of impulsiveness. 

Like attempting sign language with a scuba diver in the shark tank and then climbing the ledge of a fifth floor to look over the edge. My heart stopped. The dolphins were his favorite. 

We took our time and soaked in the day of being away as just us. 

And not many people had the same idea so we took full advantage of an almost empty at times aquarium with private dolphin shows and wide open exhibits. 

The boys could touch and roam and explore and get right up front to see an octopus eat clams and spit out the shells...

...Or see a baby jelly fish try out his floating skills, or dolphins steal a toy when they thought the trainers weren't looking. 

When we walked outside at the end of the day it was snowing. We huddled together as we hiked back to the car. But none of us were too cold, just happy, very happy. It was a perfect day to run away.