A trip to the zoo...

The Nashville zoo has a new exhibit of Aligators. My 4 year old son could not wait to go and see them. So we went, and we raced up the paths past all the other exhibits until we got to Aligator cove, and saw around 16 baby aligators swimming creepily in the murky water. At first, we could only count 5 or so, but my dad quickly saw how they hid themselves amongst the logs, and on the bottom of their artificial swamp. We stayed and watched them, my son entranced with their movements, and the informative video playing in the background. He soaked up the information like a sponge so he could repeat it later to his daddy and friends. I couldn't get over how sneaky they were, and how beady their yellow eyes were. Nonetheless, I was happy to watch my son's enthusiasm.
I am NOT a fan of reptiles in general, but aligators and snakes are my least favorite of the entire animal kingdom. My son knows this, and thinks it is hilarious to try to get me into the snake building, and get a glance at one of the many snakes in there. I avoid that section of the zoo, so much so that I sit outside and wait for my husband to bring the kids back out. Unfortunatly on this trip to the zoo, I was forced to enter the dark, humid small hallways filled with glass boxes of snakes. My sons took off in opposite directions, and my dad and I split up and followed each of them. Just entering this place made me breathe heavier. I hugged my sides and walked quickly down the un-necessary small hallways. I closed my eyes, as I rounded a corner of snake boxes, and jumped as my earing touched my neck. I caught up to my son just as he was pointing out to me that I was standing in front of the giant snakes chamber. I closed my eyes and backed into an artifical plant that I subconciously imagined to be a snake landing on my shoulder. I gasped, grabed my sons' hand, and took off down the hallway. Once I reached the exit, my son informed me he needed to pee, and off we went again down these hallways.
This place that I usually avoid, I had to spend a near hour in, and made about 4 loops through. My sons made friends with some children that were equally enthralled with the creatures, and they played and giggled and pointed as my son laughed hysterically at my jumpiness.
As I was darting through this place, following my boys, I had time to think about a few things. One, I am going to have 3 boys, who will all love to torment me with my fear of snakes and aligators, so I better get used to it. And two, I learned where the snake boxes were, so now I can enter this place, and only look at fish and turtles, and act relatively calm, so my sons won't get a kick out of scaring me to death. I'll have to work on my initial reaction, but i'll master it, and they'll never know, that the snake place creeps me out, then maybe eventually they'll tire of the snake house, and we won't have to go back.
More likely, although, I'll learn to appriciate the things they find facinating, and they'll continue to find ways to scare me one way or another, I guess that is just what boys do, but I believe, or I'll pretend, that they do it out of love.