It's all about the experience

This morning the whole family hopped on the bus and headed downtown to the Seattle Aquarium.  Kiku had a great time looking out the window and talking to people sitting nearby.  Riding the bus made me feel like we were taking a little adventure.  I know it's a little sad that this is what constitutes an adventure these days, but we almost always take the car (or walk and/or stroller for short distances).  It felt good to leave the car at home for a change. We miss a lot of the real world by isolating ourselves in our vehicles.

When we were walking around the aquarium and pointing out different sea creatures for Kiku to look at, I noticed that she was more interested in exploring the emergency exit doors, or checking out the kid in the corner holding a bag of goldfish crackers.  I think it's *finally* dawning on me that I shouldn't let my expectations get in the way of her having a good time.  If she doesn't give a rat's ass about seeing the jelly fish or eels and would rather spend her time playing on the big octopus board designed for photo ops, so be it.  I mean, why were we there in the first place?  I don't know when I got it in my head that my daughter should automatically be thrilled by marine life.

On the bus ride home, Kiku kept asking about the people sitting across from us.

    "Why are the people different this time?"

    "Where did the other people go?"

As Roger Daltry says in the amazing Wheels on the Bus video, "everybody on the bus is going somewhere, everybody's got something they gotta do."