Dear Kid,

The other night I met a woman whose job it is to play with otters.

Play. With. Otters.

For a job.

When I heard what she did, I was speechless. Yep, you read that right. Me. No words.

It turns out it’s a volunteer job, but that only makes it somewhat less wonderful.

(She sometimes gets to work with the penguins, but she doesn’t like that as much because it’s cold in the penguin enclosure.)

This amazing woman volunteers at the Newport Aquarium (which most people call the Cincinnati Aquarium even though it’s not in Cincinnati).

Turns out that the otters are being moved out of the area having exceeded their cuteness allowance. Rays are coming in (minimal danger of exceeding cuteness allowance). Until they move, the otters are being kept offsite in a secret location (and by “secret” I mean not open to the public).

She gets to go there and play with them.

There are days when I seriously question my choice of careers.

Love, Mom