Liberty Science Museum

We spent ten hours out of the house today. I was not enthralled about the idea about twenty-four hours prior. I’m sick of people. All people. Judge me all you want. shrug Nevertheless, the fact that the trip was paid for in advance dictated the fact that we went. I ain’t wastin’ money like that. God knew we needed out of the house as well. Whether we wanted to go or not is irrelevant.

The drive was awful. I hate New Jersey traffic! Nightmare is an understatement. It took hours to get to where we were goin’ and all I could think while I drove was “this better be worth it.” We missed the parkin’ lot because there was no clear turn in sign. I ended up in Jersey City to save drive time. Bad choice. Never again. I’ll drive the longer distance before I end up in that hot mess again. I had also threatened the man cubs that if they stuck a toe out of line, we would go straight home. Period. There was zero tolerance for behavior issues today. Toldja, mood.

Now thankfully, we were with our co-op group. All we had to do was walk in and do thangs. We walked through the Titanic exhibit together. Collectively, our families have all suddenly become obsessed with Titanic. I blame the man cubs. They talked their friends’ ears OFF for months. And mine. My ears are gone! All of a sudden, everyone is wantin’ to watch Titanic, and all of these documentaries. It’s been nice for them to talk about somethin’ other than video games. There is hope!
Not only were there well preserved artifacts, but photos, replica ship rooms, mini bios about some of the passengers, an “iceburg” that we all got to touch. Yes, it WAS cold. That was the point! And then there was the gift shop…..I managed to walk out without a purchase for myself. Things were fairly priced, don’t get me wrong. But I wanted too many thangs that would coincide with our master bathroom decor upgrade soooooooo the man cubs picked for themselves.
Man Cub the Third ended up with a 700+ pc Lego set. He’s been waitin’ a long time for that. So I caved. Man Cub the Second chose a 100+ pc Lego set. He would prefer to get his object together rather quickly and move on with his life without the brain tease. Man Cub the Fourth chose this ship and iceburg, oil immersion, sensory box thingy. It’s neat! Man Cub the First chose some caramels. They’re not very good. He’s gonna eat ‘em anyway cuz he really wanted the tin to begin with.

Given my fumble on responsibility yesterday, havin’ not gone to the store for lunch thangs, we purchased from the cafe. All things considered, it was a little overpriced, but the portion sizes were reasonable. And there was no shortage of choices, which was huge. Everyone wanted different thangs, of course. Cheaper to bring your own food for sure. But convenient nonetheless.

There were exhibits on the Hudson River, local and exotic wildlife, energy source education, a HUGE train table, somethin’ called Grossology—true story—that was an entire room about burps, farts, snot, and poop. My sons were, needless to say, in their element.
We also ventured outside to the Dino Dig. Somebody tell me what sense it makes to wear shoes in sand…..Right, it doesn’t. Anyway…
Many of our co-op kids built a castle out of huge Legos. Man Cub the Fourth made himself a chair. It ended up in the castle. That turned into a throne right quick! Man Cub the Third made some kinda fort outta foam blocks. It was quite impressive.

My poor baby. He’s short compared to many of his peers. He’ll grow. I ain’t concerned. But it would be nice that everyone else stop pointin’ it out. Ya know, SHUT UP and mind your own business? Anyway, the point is, he did not get to do this suspended climbin’ thang that just about everyone else was tall enough to do. He cried for at least fifteen minutes. Just about everyone is oblivious to the fact that he’s six and half…He ended up with some of the Dunlap short genes, what can I say? And then, he wanted to do the Touch Tunnel. He’s not seven, so he wasn’t allowed to do it by himself. He had to have an adult. Thankfully the dad in our group volunteered as tribute to take my son and his daughter. Good practice for the fireman.
There were more thangs that could be highlighted in greater detail. I’m tired and overstimulated however, and am only able to remember so much. It was worth the drive in New Jersey traffic. Worth goin’ more than once, but also easy to see it all in a day.

We ended the trip with some Mexican food. Well earned, deserved, and appreciated. Everyone has opened their gift shop finds. And they’re startin’ to finally chill a little bit. They gonna sleep goooooood, y’all! They gonna sleep good!

I’m glad we got out today. I did not want to at all. The man cubs knew it too. They thanked me for takin’ them anyway. They didn’t need to. But maybe because I made such a big deal about it, they felt it necessary. Add this to the list of parent fails that I need to apologize for. It ain’t easy parentin’ well when you feel as if your emotions have been relentlessly beaten for the past three and a half years. Relatives suck. ‘Nuff said.
My poor sons have certainly watched their momma pick herself up offa the floor more times than I care to admit. One day they’ll understand why there were tears, anger, frustration, and the constant state of tired. They’ll never forget the picture of strength within the moments of weakness. This was one of those days for the books. They’ll remember this day.