A Dream is Born

Sometimes, dreams are wonderfully born from a pivotal occurrence in someone’s life. Other times, they grow from steady determination and immersion-with a sprinkle of kismet. For Little Bug, I believe it is that later.

We all know that he has been obsessed with sharks; however he has now added whales, dolphins, turtles, and fishes to his repertoire of marine life. He has basically given up regular kid shows, favoring Discovery and National Geographic specials.


Yesterday, we took him to the aquarium again. It was an amazing trip and the realization of a dream. He watched the sharks and fishes in the tank and began to explain why some were fish and some were sharks. He pointed at a big Sturgeon and explained that it couldn’t be a shark because it only had one dorsal fin.


His light bulb moment came from the Seattle waterfronts new problem- tons and tons of jellyfish that shouldn’t be here and they can’t figure out how to get rid of. Little Bug and I were waiting for Nick on a pier and looking at the water. Suddenly, a bit of pink could be spotted. He yelled, “Jellyfish!” and began to jump up and down.


I watched and waited to see what it was. I was a little nervous that it was trash and he would be disappointed. More and more pink began to become visible along with some white and orange. Finally, a huge jellyfish appeared. Right behind it came a flock of tiny opaque jellies. This was Little Bug’s first experience with sea life outside of an aquarium.


He looked at me and said, “I’ma learn bout sharks.”


“Do you mean watching your movies and reading your books?”


“No! Ima swim with sharks- tiger sharks….whale sharks… bull sharks… jelly fishes…. Squid”


“Do you mean a biologist?”


“Yep. I’ma beelologist!”


Dreams are fragile, fragile things. This is something we weren’t sure we would ever get to experience with Little Bug. Nick and I will move mountains and go to hell and back to make sure he has every opportunity to become a beelologist.