A Mommy Story

Saturday was the Cincinnati Walk Now For Autism event, and after raising $345 in just three weeks, we got up at dawn and made the drive down to the Cincinnati Zoo.

So how was the walk? In a word: wet.

The skies threw water at us the entire drive down. When we got to the zoo, there was a brief respite, and we hoped the rain would be over with, as weathermen had forecasted. (Note: never trust the weatherman.) We were running a little later than I planned, so with the girls in the stroller, we hurried to the registration desk. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the Cincinnati Zoo. I forgot just how many hills there were. My legs still ache from speed walking up and down those steep hills, and I wasn’t even the one pushing the double stroller. I think I have shin splints now. Ouch.

I was a little disappointed with the event itself. When I went to check-in, I was told that there were no more t-shirts. Period. All sizes were gone, even child sizes. I reminded them that I was pre-registered, but that didn’t matter. Apparently they didn’t think to set aside t-shirts for those who had pre-registered. Poor planning.

I quickly found Amy and Tela in the crowd, and we then waited to find out what was happening next while introducing our children to each other.

Despite the gray weather, there were thousands of people standing around registration, with little organization. At some point, someone started talking with a microphone, but with a crowd of this size, we couldn’t hear a thing. Or see the person talking. The rain then started up again, and we sought shelter under a pop-up tent. The mass of people started moving up the hill, and we guessed that the walk had officially started.

We waited until the majority of people were up the hill, not wanting to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone else. We were also hoping the rain would slow down a little. It didn’t, so we gave up, pulled up all our hoods, and started the walk up the hill.

While it wasn’t the event I had planned on going to, it was still fun to meet Amy and Tela. And Cordy and Mira had fun looking at the animals as we walked around the zoo. I wish the organizers had been better, well, organized. No one could plan for the weather, but they could have handled t-shirt distribution and directions better.

Despite the rain, we enjoyed ourselves, and I’m still happy we raised as much as we did for autism research and education. I’ve already signed up for the Columbus walk in October, and hope to raise even more money between now and then.

Thank you to those who donated!

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PS – If you’re a new mom, or know a new mom, be sure to check out my review of The Rookie Mom’s Handbook, written by the two amazing ladies behind the Rookie Moms blog.