Those who are acquainted with Oliver need to stop laughing at that title. I know he’s not exactly Mr Adventure. Cautious, he is. But yesterday he threw caution to the wind and spit on it. With the wind, of course. His mother has listened to enough Jim Croce that not spitting into the wind is genetic. (Also, the boy does not spit. It’s a metaphor. Work with me!)

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, one that required us to be outside as much as possible. Though we are in single-parent mode thanks to yet another geek fest, I girded my loins and asked the kids if they wanted to go to the zoo. It’s only 10 minutes away so I knew we could get there early. I also knew it was the day after a freebie day so crowds were unlikely, especially if we got there early. Oliver and Eleanor got dressed in record time and we were at the zoo by 10am.

The kids were darn near angelic. There was some grumpiness as we approached departure time but as it was right before lunch I cut them some slack. I also thought they might be getting tired, but apparently I sniffed too much elephant poo and became delusional, but that’s another story. They were downright adorable when I told them I had never been in the monkey house and both vowed to keep me safe. As we exited the monkey house Oliver even asked if I had been a little bit scared, with a look of genuine concern on his face.

Though such sustained good behavior is noteworthy, it wasn’t the most incredible thing that happened. Oliver was stricken with some serious bravery. Kid’s Kingdom isn’t usually much more than a quick pass through for us, and most of the time we skip it entirely. My kids are not usually interested. But today was not usual. Today Oliver insisted on going down one of the big slides. Eleanor, lover of slides and generally fearless, was happy to watch her big brother go down this slide three or four times, clapping for him each time. Then he was done, and asking if we could go see the kangaroos.

Again, this is something he hasn’t wanted to get too close to in the past. Today he wanted to go into the paddock and asked repeatedly if he could step off the path and visit the kangaroos more closely. “Who is this child?” I kept wondering.

Still, he wasn’t done being brave. Later in the afternoon we were outside with some neighbors. Eleanor loves to play on their swing set so she was happily swinging when Oliver, avoider of swings, decided he needed to try. He didn’t want to move more than about six inches forward or back, but hey, he was on a swing!

Could it be the fact that he’s turning 5 in less than three weeks? 5 is a milestone, and Oliver knows it, even claiming he will start wiping his own butt when he is 5.

What happened to mah bay-bee?