Reason #2987987b I love my job

I wanted to write this down so I never forget this day. Bear with me while I let loose the writer within.

It's a bit cloudy. They ripple across the sky in dangerous curls and huge banks, but the sun still shines down on us.

Cheetahs can run up to 65-70 miles an hour. Imagine driving down the freeway and watching a cheetah pass your car. When I get to work today, I know it's already going to be a good day because I'll get to watch a cheetah run as fast as it can go.

The first run is a bit sloppy. She almost catches the lure right out of the box, and it distracts her. While we wait for her to recover, I notice the clouds are starting to move in. A few sprinkles fall on my arm, but I reassure my guests that it's not going to rain hard. It will pass.

Even as I say that, thunder rumbles in the distance.

I love the sound of thunder. I love how it grabs you by the guts and fills the air with a spark.

They let the crowd know the cheetah will run a second time. My guests are pleased. This time, she runs straight and true out of the box. Her spine flexes up and down, her paws eat the ground in twenty-foot strides. Her sides heave in and out in great breaths. The turf rips up under her claws. But her eyes do not leave the lure, even when thunder rumbles again.

Six seconds later, it's over. So brief, but so amazing. She comes in to meet my guests, but the thunder is louder and the rain is starting to pick up. We have to cut it short. Animal safety and welfare is always first.

My guests file out. Some of them go over to the lions nearby, where curtains have been drawn over the acrylic windows so the lions can't see the cheetah, and vice versa. I scurry around cleaning up as it begins to pour. The thunder ripples through me every few seconds, it seems, and the rain pounds on me hard, soaking me through. At least it's a warm rain.

By the time I'm done, some guests have opened the curtains hiding the lions. I go over to pull them onto the poles and tie them down. As I'm working on the curtain next to the acrylic where the lions lie, a ripple of laughter runs through the crowd. I look up. Golden tawny eyes pierce into mine, inches from my face. One of our females finds what I'm doing very interesting, and she doesn't take her eyes off me the entire time I'm working. I've had interactions with her like this before, but this moment catches me completely off guard. I joke with a guest that she must think I look tasty, but inside I'm smiling for a different reason.

Soon, the rain stops and the guests disperse back into the park. I grab my things and make sure the last of my guests are taken care of before heading back on the long walk to my office. On the way, it starts to rain again-- hard. But I don't mind. I love the warm water streaming from the sky, and the thunder. Besides, I'm completely soaked by now, so what's a little more? All I can do at this point is laugh at myself, and I do.

Later, back in dry clothes and safely at home, I will try and describe my day to my husband. I can't quite capture why it was so special, but maybe I've done a better job of that here. It's a small snapshot of life working in a zoo, but it's something I want to remember forever. Never forget that the special moments often come out of nowhere, when you least expect them and aren't looking for them.