I step up to the gate already hating the day. " Oh, get over it and enjoy the rest of the day!" My wife demands from me. All the joyful screaming and hollering while trying to buy tickets was making me regret ever agreeing to this. You would figure that the zoo would be my favorite place (loving animals and all), but I don't handle the sensory overload well. We buy our four tickets for my father and mother in-law and my wife and me. After spending a fortune, I begrudgingly head through the entrance. Me and my father head over to find us some handicapped scooters. We can walk short term but as much as we were about to do, we needed them. Not only did we have trouble locating the rental, but we also had to wait for something to become available. While waiting, my mother in-law noticed my displeasure and, knowing that it calms me down, has us all pray about the day. "Dear lord, watch over Joshua as he attempts to handle this type of situation for the first time as he is. Please help all of us to enjoy this blessing of a day. Thank you, lord. It’s in your son’s name we pray, amen." She says while we're all joined in hand. Instantly, the peace this brings is overwhelmed by a screaming kid I'd love to punch. After finally getting our much-needed scooters, we take off for the exhibits. 'We', aka my wife, decide we should go to the wolf exhibit on account of, I absolutely love wolves. After what seemed an eternity to get there, we find that all the wolves are asleep or hiding. "Can anything go right today?" I ask my wife in a sarcastic tone. After wondering through the park, we see something that could possibly be fun. "Come try out 100-yard Zipline today!" My wife reads off to me. Noticing my interest, she tells us to follow her. We get to the attraction and I finally start to voice my concerns. Was I going to be able to get to the take off point? Was I going to be safe? Having my disability brought a lot of questions to the table. After her pressuring me into trying to enjoy myself, I decide to at least try. My mother in-law even agrees to come with me. After the mild trek to the starting point and some introductions, I come to peace with what I was about to try. The rest of the crew and people enjoying the zoo were not prepared. The amount of screaming I did on the way really shocked people. We get to the end of the run, and even through my shaking vison, I can see the receiving crew laughing. " I expected you to be crying after all of that. We weren't sure if you were a boy or girl with the screaming and I definitely didn't expect you to be an older man.".528Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8Sad2BPXX
I zone out in anger, and if it wasn't for my mother in-law guiding me, I would probably be there to this day. While zoned out, they are able to convince me to go on a 'death drop'. It was, as I was later informed, a 30-foot freefall while hooked to a harness for safety. Reports, and a YouTube video, show that the profanity I screamed the entire way was heard throughout the zoo. After checking my pants for the leaks, I expected, I stormed off towards what I hoped was the exit. "You’re ok, right? I know having a TBI makes all of this hard, but you tried. Follow me, I’ll walk you to the car." My wife says while kissing and hugging me. I follow her to the exit so I can mope in the car but the route she takes me was unexpected. My pouting trip was interrupted by the ability to feed some birds with a birdseed stick. A couple had even landed on my shoulders but flew off before I could pull a pirate pose. Leaving with a smile, finally, I continue to follow her. She just doubles the power of that smile by giving me the chance to feed some giraffes. It warmed my heart so much, that Even without the ability to cry, I desperately wanted to, out of joy. 528Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIxCaABwXH
Finally making it to the car, she pulls me into a big hug and says "I hope you enjoyed some of this. Especially since it was free, and I was discounted. I didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you. Being a handicapped vet can be helpful, sometimes. “.” If you weren't already my wife, I'd marry you right now." I say planting a giant messy kiss on her forehead. I don't even remember the rest of that night, but it was probably like heaven after seeing that giant smile on her face.
Penana
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