🦒 A Day That Finally Happened

🦒 A Day That Finally Happened

It wasn’t perfect, but it was everything we needed.

We finally did it!

After three cancellations, a summer that didn’t go to plan, and one birthday that passed quietly at home, we finally made it to Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

It was her birthday trip back in June. We’d booked it, rearranged it, and postponed it more times than I can count. Each time, we had the best of intentions, but life had other ideas. Emotional overload. Panic days. Hospitalisation. Times when even leaving the house felt too much.

So now, we’ve learned to live differently. We book everything with flexibility, a little safety net that gives us permission to change our minds. Even the airlines are catching on — EasyJet’s new £10 Flexi change option... Brilliant. It’s like the universe finally understands families like ours.

We’ve accepted that certainty isn’t always possible, and that’s not failure, that’s wisdom.

This time, we booked it knowing we wouldn’t really know until the morning whether we’d go.
And then, we did.

There was a calmness in the air, not silence, but a little excitement. I could see she was in that rare window where it might just work. So we packed up, no pressure, no over-explaining, and we went.

We’ve learned that the more fluid the plan, the safer it feels.
No big countdowns, no “we’re definitely doing this.” Just gentle possibilities.

I let her set the day.
We walked, talked, paused when she needed to, and found quiet spots when it got too much. There’s such power in just listening, not fixing, not filling the silence, just letting her guide the day.

Her favourite animals, the giraffes were out. Calm. Steady. Gentle giants. There’s something grounding about them, the way they move slowly and deliberately, like nothing in the world could rush them. I could see her watching them and almost mirroring that calm.

We didn’t rush from one thing to another; we let the day unfold.
It wasn’t about ticking things off, it was about just being.

And it worked.
It was one of those rare, golden days where connection came naturally.
No drama, no panic, just quiet conversation and shared smiles.

But the truth is, these days take their toll.
The day after a “big day” is always hard. The emotional exertion of holding it together of managing thoughts, crowds, and social energy, hits like a wave once the adrenaline fades.

Today is a rest day. A recovery day.
Because joy, for her, still costs energy and that’s okay.

We’ve learned to build that in too. To expect the wobble, not fear it. To plan the calm after the storm as carefully as the event itself.

That’s how we live now, with flexi-tickets, backup plans, gentle exits, and full permission to say, “Not today.”

Because when the day does happen, like it did yesterday, it means even more.
Not because it was perfect, but because it was possible.

And that’s everything.

💭 Reflection

If you’re a parent living this life too, here’s what I’ve learned along the way:

• Flexibility is freedom. Book it, but make peace with changing it.

• Keep communication gentle. No big countdowns, no pressure,just possibilities.

• Listen to the cues. Emotional energy runs out faster than physical energy, build in recovery time after the good days too.

• Prepare others. If you’re meeting friends or family, quietly let them know what helps, space, understanding, patience.

You can still have special days, they just look a little different.
Less picture-perfect, more heart-perfect.

And when they finally happen, even after months of waiting, they remind you just how far you’ve both come.

Your calm in the chaos,

Sami xx