Dear Kid,

We really are lucky to have so many cool things to do in the Greater Cincinnati area. Yesterday we went to the Newport Aquarium (Thanks guys!).

It was a gorgeous day so we didn’t mind waiting outside for the penguins. Yes, some of the African penguins make an outdoor appearance first thing in the morning.

African penguins???

Yep, African penguins. They come from an area in Southern Africa and are extremely rare (which the attendant told us). They are also known as jackass penguins, which somehow got left out of the presentation.

The penguins come out in a stroller, which is fabulous until you realize they are going to stay in their stroller. In plastic cylinders in their stroller.

Educational, but better for little kids rather than college-age kids.

Me: What was your favorite part of the aquarium?
Kid 1 (around a mouthful of Tom + Chee grilled macaroni and cheese): The yellow-finned window cleaners.

It really was fun seeing the scuba divers cleaning the tank.

Me: What was your favorite part of the aquarium?
Kid 2 (after chewing and swallowing her goat cheese grilled cheese): I wanted Mike to move.

Mighty Mike is the 800 pound crocogator currently residing at the aquarium. He spends most of his time imitating a statue.

Kid 2: I also liked the otter.
Me: Me too.

More about the otter tomorrow.

Me: What was your favorite part of the aquarium?
Kid 3 (also after chewing and swallowing): Loggerhead turtle and the divers.

Loggerheads are so named because of their big heads. They eat all sorts of things including jellyfish but they don’t typically eat Portuguese Man-o-War (Men-o-War? How do you pluralize that?) which is probably the only thing that prevents them from being on the Best Turtles Ever list.

Me? I had a great time everywhere. (My blog, I don’t have to choose a fave.) I really liked watching you and Pi identify so many of the fish you’ve seen in the wild.

Contrary to some of the idle speculation, I did not have an adverse reaction to seeing the jellyfish (none of them were PMoW).

The octopus was very cute (as usual) but she is laying eggs which means she’s near the end of her life which is sad. And there is nothing un-cute one can say about the penguins, because they are penguins.

In case you’re wondering, yes, I walked across the new rope bridge (4 miles of rope used to make the bridge). It was kind of cool to see sharks from that angle.

Overall, I’m pretty sure my favorite thing of the day was spending time with the World’s Most Wonderful Children.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

There is a jellyfish outbreak in the Mediterranean. Having had my share of jellyfish hugs, you know how I feel about them (they belong anywhere I’m not). According to NPR, the reasons for the outbreak are climate change, overfishing, and desire to reduce the number of tourists on the beach.

Best fact of the day: In Spain, they call jellyfish Medusas. That is perfect. I was going to include a picture of jellyfish, but they give me the heebie jeebies. The images I found of Medusa aren’t much better, so you will have to use your imagination.

According to one expert, jellyfish are very smart because they can reproduce more quickly than fish can. There is nothing about that sentence that makes any sense to me.

Officials are doing all sorts of things to try to contain the jellyfish population. In Spain, they are posting jellyfish flags along the beach to scare off the tourists and cause the jellyfish to die of loneliness. In Israel, they are testing sound frequencies (like bad rap music) to encourage jellyfish to float elsewhere. My idea is they should develop some sort of peanut butter invertebrate and serve lunch to the turtles. (Fact: Leatherback turtles like Man o War jellyfish. Moms do not.)

Today is the first day of Pi’s sophomore year. Which means summer homework (by definition) is done. Guess when she started? Wrong. She started in June. Guess when she finished? Yup, last night. (Fortunately, she finished at reasonable hour.) And yes, there was a pretty darn big gap in the middle.

There are things that can be done at the last minute and things that require advance planning. Figuring out the difference—and actually doing things in advance that require doing in advance—may be the Key to a Happy Life not to mention a successful college career.

Things That Can Be Done at the Last Minute

• Choosing a library book to read during summer break
• Patting a friendly dog on the head
• Warming up leftovers
• Taking a nap

Things That Require Advance Work

• Crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a raft
• Producing Aida
• Studying for exams
• Summer homework

Message sent (and I assume received).

Love, Mom