The love of my life

Ladies and gentlemen I have met the love of my life. He is 25, a little gray and wrinkly but it suits him, he's stubborn, and the boy can eat. He comes from Zimbabwe, his name is Mana (makes you think of the bread from heaven, huh?), oh, and he's an elephant. Sorry, to anyone who is disappointed about there not being an actual romance in my life, but I really adored this elephant.

Riding an elephant is something I've wanted to do my whole life, granted I've been once before but I was far too young to remember the event. Anyway, my friend Brandon found out about this dream of mine, called in a favor, and got me a discounted price for the gig. So I woke up at 4:45, far more excited and peppy than anyone should ever be at that time of day, and was out the door by 5:30.

After driving along with the sunrise we got to this place called Sun City. It had a Las Vegas feel about it, except for that the slot machines weren't all crowded until later on in the day. We met our driver there and then were off to meet the elephants! Brandon and I were the only bookings that day, so we had the whole heard to ourselves. They were gorgeous. I know I don't have favorite animals, but that day I would definitely have proclaimed elephants as the fairest in the land.

We rode around for an hour as the sun still made its way fully into the sky. There was mist everywhere as we rocked along to the rhythm of Mana's steps which could easily have sent an upset baby into a deep sleep.

We saw a couple other animals along the way, but mostly just beautiful scenery, peaceful quiet, and Mana's footsteps which were sometimes interrupted by an uncontrollable need to pull branches from nearby trees. It was one of those experiences that I can't adequately put into words, but these lyrics reverberated through my mind the entire time: "For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies, Lord of all to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise."

After the ride we went to feed them. We could choose to tell them "trunk down" in which case they would bring their trunk right in front of our hands and we could fill it with food for them to lift to their mouths; or we could say "trunk up" and they would move their trunk out of the way and we could put the food directly in their mouths. They were adorable and forever prodding for more food, which I was always happy to oblige. I absolutely loved every second with them. They are gorgeous, smart, and entertaining. I definitely want to keep one.

The morning finished with a breakfast of our own while overlooking the park. Again, it was gorgeous. It was nice to just sit quietly and be a part of the world around me. I treasure moments like that.

I don't know what I did to deserve such wonderful experiences, but I'm going to try and keep doing it.