This is my first Throw Back Thursday post, but as I was going through old posts on my site I saw something that just pulled at me. In 2008 as we were living in North Carolina I took all 3 of my young children to the zoo, as we came to the Gorilla habitat a older female gorilla approached us. She had Motherly Gorilla instincts.

The reason I saw that is because when she saw my stroller containing my three month old son, she started making a sign for baby with her arms. I was a bit nervous because hey it’s a gorilla. I showed the gorilla who was named Grandma Hope my young son and she made a nest out of the straw in her habitat. It just broke my heart that she wanted a baby.

We stayed at the habitat fora while in amazement, Grandma Hope was beautiful and interacting with my children. A zookeeper came by and told us her story. She had Children of her own, but they either had passed or they were transferred to other Zoos. She definitely had the mother/grandmother instinct though and it was amazing to see.

I didn’t get any pictures of her holding her arms out, but she was kind enough to pose with my oldest daughter.

We learned a few years later that Grandma Hope had passed. This is truly one of my favorite memories.