Where the Wild Things Are…Literally

3 months ago, after a 10 year career in advertising and social media market research, I decided to follow my heart to a new adventure. Or, what has literally become, a zoo adventure :)

Although I was elated to join the LPZ summer staff as a conservation camp instructor -- to help educate kids about our awesome animal ambassadors and the importance to protect wildlife across the globe -- I was admittedly nervous about making a legit 180 into an entirely new professional path.

What will I say if I see my former co-workers or acquaintances at the zoo? How do I explain that I really did choose to leave a great job in exchange for an hourly wage (and the chance to completely not nail it on the fashion front in my zooniform)?

But just as life goes, you figure it out as you go.

So here’s what I’ve learned along the way:

When I have run into a former boss or even a good friend I forgot to fill in about my life (woops), their reactions were all the same: COOL! NICE! WAY TO BE! GOOD FOR YOU, I WISH I COULD…

And when I’d try to quickly interject at an auctioneer’s pace that “I am getting my Masters this Fall blah blah blah blah blah” -- not one person has ever asked a single further question about what comes next. They simply all want to hear funny stories about the little people (aka: the phenomenal 4 & 5 year old campers) that have been making my sides split all summer! 

The people mcnuggets who remind me of this

this

and this, on a daily basis.

And after I’d spew out several stories they would laugh and say,

“You gotta write this all down!”

And I would say,
“I do!”

And they would say,

 “Well then you have to share them!”

And I would say, 

“I will!”

So this, is that. 

A post I’ve compiled in hopes it will bring 

as much joy to you as it has to me :)

15 "LIGHT BULBS" TO KEEP IN YOUR POCKET

1. People don't actually care what you’re doing with your life, so long as you are happy. It’s just taken me a while to realize that the people I actually care about, can’t make that happen for me. Happiness is an inside job.

     

***
 
2. Slow your roll.

While walking from our classroom to see the giraffes, I’ve timed that it takes our class almost 15 minutes to get to-and-fro. My little friends not only look at every single thing, but they ask about every single thing along the way. So one afternoon I asked a fellow adult friend to walk the same exact distance, so to see how long it would take. She reported back with a mere 3 minutes yet she could not recollect one animal past along the way.

“Was I supposed to be looking for something?” 
she asked.

In life, we fly planes, drive cars, ride bikes, and put our kids in strollers so to get there faster, and then we complain that 

life goes by all too fast…

***

3. BEE Mindful

While living in Manhattan, it was ever apparent to me that half of us worked during the day while the other half worked at night. 

It’s what makes Zoo York buzz ‘round the clock.

The sad thing is, it wasn’t until I started working at the zoo that I realized that the nocturnal/diurnal component is only a minor system which makes our world go round. 

In the bigger picture of life, it is the hard work of the kind, concerned, compassionate human bee-ings (pun intended) who devote their entire lives to protect, grow, and care for what actually sustains us.

***

4. Sometimes raise your hand and sometimes shout out the answer. Either way, participate in your life. 

At zoo camp, my mini-Martians rarely ever know the right answer, but they always guess. They aren't afraid to be wrong. I vow to guess more often and simply respect the fact that 
“you just don't know what you just don't know.” 

I adore it when my little buddies use simple terms 
in lieu of words they’ve yet to learn...  
“Miss Stacey, the circus tent is sooo big; 
it’s like 10 dads tall!”

#GENIUS

***

“Why would anyone want to suppress genius?
Well, it is not intentional. It is not a plot. Genius is an innocent casualty in society’s efforts to train children away from natural-born foolishness.” 
~Gordon MacKenzie

5.  In many ways, I’d argue that teaching 4 & 5 year olds is the best “job” on the planet. But I have to remind myself that there is a fine line between teaching the yahoo’s and taming the yahoo’s. 
  
On a daily basis, I have the utmost pleasure to REMEMBER HOW TO THINK LIKE A CHILD. That I really do believe you have a pet dragon at home and even though I wanted to leave the public restroom long before we stepped foot in the door, I will stay the extra 30 seconds to play pretend that the XLerator hand dryer is in fact, a tornado happening on top of your head…

***
  
6. Follow the golden rule of improvisation: 
Say YES often.

“Miss Stacey, can I please have this lucky ‘cone-pine’? I found it on the ground!” 

To which I reply, “Yes, you can keep that lucky pine-cone; and when we get back to the classroom for snack time, we can all wash our lucky hands...”

See how the magic of “yes” works?
BOTH SIDES WIN!

Here’s the thing with saying “yes”… I’m fully aware you can’t always do it. Safety is key, yadda yadda yadda. But when I can say it, a discovery almost always ensues...

“Ummm, Miss Stacey, can I keep this super big tree star that I found during playtime?”

To which I reply,
“Sure! Wow, that really is a gigantic leaf. Good find!”

After which my ears are blessed to hear, “Thanks! I think it’s going to rain today and this umbrella will cover almost all of my fairies.”

{insert my head tilting in confusion for 2.2 
and then my heart melting here}

   

***

7. We’re more alike than you think. 

Things my 4 & 5 year old campers say aloud 
that I was silently thinking in my head:

Is it snack time?
(5 minutes later)
What will the snack be tomorrow?
(5 minutes later)
Do we eat lunch after snack?
(5 minutes later)
Can a Kangaroo really punch you in the face?

 

***

8. Celebrate small victories. 

My days are now filled watching these mini-Martians have “ah-ha!” moments left and right. And after every single one I salute the giant smiles that beam across their faces and say,
“Welcome to Earth, my friend! I’m so glad you've arrived :)”

      
***

9. Get a new prescription.
  
Remember that time in life when you “broke the mold” because 
you had no clue whatsoever that stereotypes and prejudices even existed? 
   
That is life through a 4 year old's lens.
A life lens which I believe many more 
should subscribe to.

   

***

  

10. Rinse & Repeat.
  
Have you ever read a great storybook or sang a silly song with a child? If so, you know all too well that right when it’s over they’ll say, “Do it again!”

This, my friends, is the story of my summer...
   
Repetition plays a HUGE role in child development but by the time we’re adults, there’s simply no time for the same task twice. 
I’d argue that we really DO have the time, 
we actually just lack the patience. 

So do what they say and do it again.
Second chances are oftentimes the “do over” you needed to realize what you may have missed in the first place.

***

11. Bring back the non-sequiturs! 

At what point in our lives did we decide that every conversation had to follow a path and result in some sort of meaning? I sit at dinner with my besties and everyone laughs at me all like, “Stace, where are you going with this story?!” #LEFTFIELD

Sometimes I think my mini-Martians are casually nailing life with interactions such as, "Today’s my dad’s birthday! We eat cheese."

The adult in me wants to say, “Dude, that has absolutely nothing to do with anything.” But WHO CARES! At least now we all know two more awesome tidbits about this little person. Bring it. 

  

***

12. “Good Idea | Bad Idea”

Every morning, while waiting for all the other minions to arrive, we play a lil' time-passer-byer called, 
"Good Idea. Bad Idea."

FACT: 
It really doesn't take much to entertain 4 & 5 year olds.

Typically, the "game" goes as such...

Good idea: Eat salad.
Bad idea: Eat poison ivy.

Good idea: Wear your bathing suit to go swimming.

Bad idea: Wear your bathing suit to go sledding!

{insert the contagious laughter of my short friends here}   

The crazy thing is, I’ve started to apply this very simple question to my life (both personally and professionally) and have been amazed how much impact this teeny tiny moment of pause has often put me on the path to a

***

13. Read aloud.

When did we stop story time and why?

   

This is my campers during play time...

This is my campers during story time...

Note to self: 

When I find me one of those boyfriend things,

there will be story time. Whether he likes it or not ;)

***

14. Love on the little things and say how you feel…

the good stuff too! 
  
Rarely in our adult lives do you ever hear someone just yell, 
“I LOVE CARROTS!!!” 
  
At least once an hour, my earlobes smile when a camper shouts out a positive exclamation, just because :) And when there’s a confrontation, it’s quickly resolved or merely forgotten about entirely because we’ve moved onto the next shiny object. 
    
Let the bad stuff go. 

***

15. Find closure.
   

Two years ago, my Grandma Stella past away. It was the first time I had ever truly gone through the painful process of losing a loved one. Death has a way of stirring stale emotions you never even knew existed and raises questions you never thought to think before. Did I tell her enough how much I loved her? Did I spend all the time I could possibly have with her? Did I ___ enough?
The list and fill-in-the-blank goes on and on. 
  
What my summer at the zoo has taught me (in addition to all the above), is that my relationship with my Grandma was actually symbiotic...While she was teaching me, I was allowing her to see life again through a fresh and foolish lens.

Everyday, while these little 4 & 5 year olds light up my life, 
I forget that they are actually the ones benefiting from camp. And I realize now that while I was busy sponging all the great wisdom, knowledge, and love that my Grandma Stella had to offer, there was an inadvertent reward for her as well:
to watch me grow along the way.
     

***
   

Max once said,
“Let the wild rumpus start!”

And I say, 

I hope it never ends :)

  

***

This post is in no way, shape, or form endorsed by the LPZ. However, if you're ever in the wildly wonderful city of Chicago, you should do yourself the favor to swing by the zoo. It rules and (if you don't suck at life) it will make you feel happy :)