MsE asked to visit the "Sand Playground" as we call it and we literally ran out of the house to accommodate her.

To get to the Sand Playground, you have to enter the Nature Park and pass the trees where the monkeys live, and MsE knew it. MsE recently learned to pump with her feet on the hammock in the playground, but she really wanted to try it on "real" swings like they have in Labrador Park. She decided with her new knowledge of what to do if you see a monkey, that it was worth the risk.  

MsE had refused to enter Labrador Park due since probably April 2020 (9 months?). For a long time, we couldn't understand why she would happily go out for a ride down the Boardwalk on her scooter, only to slam on the breaks when we got to the wooden walkway that leads into the park.

She had 100 excuses, but would not proceed and we would all eventually head back home, frustrated that our walk had been more than cut in half and ended just where it starts to get good. Eventually, we figured out that MsE was afraid of monkeys and it all began to make sense - The first part of the park, where we enter, is home to a strip of trees inhabited by monkeys.

So when MsE asked to go to the park the other day, we went right away. We didn't know how far we would get, but we figured even getting in sight of the park would be a success. Instead, MsE went all the way into the park to the sand playground, and back - passing the trees with the monkeys on the way there and back. She only had a moment of hesitation at the place she usually ends our walk at, and when we talked about it when we got home, she said "I just wasn't afraid."

Thankfully, this all happened was late on a Sunday afternoon, so the park was full of people and the playground was quite busy. The kids had to wait in line for the swings. There was almost no chance of us running into a monkey. They are very reclusive at this park and usually only seen very early in the morning. We also got to see the most lovely sunset as we walked home for dinner. It kept getting redder and redder.

We're celebrating that as a huge success. Some days MsE can't stay outside for long, because it's too stressful, but at least the contributing monkey issue is decreasing.