Moving moment #2

Thought I forgot about this didn't you? I was inspired by a facebook post that a friend of mine and then Josh also posted a few days later involving one of the world's largest aquariums and a lovely song that went along with it.

2. First, I'm baby crazy. I admit it now. A few years ago I would have probably tried to discredit such a statement, but I know there really is no denying it anymore. It's pretty obvious. The strange thing is I really quite disliked children until I went to college. I thought they were annoying. But the change first began when I started nannying for a couple at the age of 19. The wife was the best mother I'd ever encountered. She was so patient with her children, and so reasonable about picking her battles. She never freaked out on them for the small stuff, she was always so kind and understanding. To me, as well as her children. She was just such a good mother, and it really inspired me to be a mother too. Also, her children were really wonderful. They were two boys, their names were Ari and Coby. I loved them like my own sons. I couldn't imagine better children, and they just meant the world to me. You can ask any of my family members, I talked about them all the time. I started watching them when Ari was a little less than two years, and Coby was about six months. One day, when they were a few years older (Coby was probably 3 and Ari was maybe 4 or 5), we went to the zoo. Now, I love water. I would give anything to live near the ocean. The closer the better. When I can't be near the ocean I'll take a lake. No lake? Rivers. A pond. A stream. Whatever you've got. Any body of water is better than none. I feel drawn to it in a way that I'm not drawn to anything else. I like forests. I like mountains. But I can live without them. If you really wanted me to be most unhappy you'd put me in the middle, somewhere very far away from any water. I'd probably die. So it's only natural that I also feel akin to aquariums. I find fish therapeutic. They're so graceful, and everything is so blue and peaceful. They just live. They just swim, and they need the water to survive. I could sit all day and watch things swim. At the Pittsburgh zoo, there is a really large and fairly new aquarium. When the boys and I went in, they had a big two-story tank that you could sit and watch things at. There was also an open tank where you could pet a small shark and a couple of sting rays. Ari wasn't so interested in this, but Coby, who was still young enough I think, was fascinated. I brought him over and held him up so he could stick his little hand in there and touch the fishes. He was so sweet and excited. He loved it, and laughed several times. There was something so magical about this moment. The music was playing, the fish were swimming. I thought, here I am, surrounded by water, by fish, I get to touch them, I get to be a part of this for just one moment, and I get to share it with a wonderful, innocent, darling little child, whom I love very dearly. It couldn't have been more spiritual for me, connecting with nature and a holding a child. This is what I want from life, I thought. I want to be a mother. I want to show my children how to enjoy nature and other living creatures. I want to show them respect and how to coexist. Be gentle with the fish; they deserve our admiration. Every living thing is a miracle. See? You can touch them and feel that they are also living creatures, just like you and me. Life is just given to us, we don't have to ask for it. It is a gift, and it's been given to this little tiger shark and it's been given to you and me. In that we are the same. This is what I want to teach my children. I'm still working on that baby thing, but I feel confident. I know that given such good examples, I will be a good mother too.