Miss M and I went to the Denver Zoo the other day and got caught up at the sea lion exhibit; at the windows where you can watch what happens in their underworld. She has never been taken by them the way she was the other day. For some odd reason, the zoo crowds were foregoing the lower level that day so it felt like a secret reprieve. I liked the escape so I could take in my girl in yet another moment of discovery. We shared the joy and beauty of these animals together, mostly alone in the shade with their silent swiftness to keep us buoyed in place.
Watching the sea lions swim by creates such a wave of excitement. They pass the windows and tumble together in the water playing, streaming right by you. Then they swim on back to the other end of their cage. That elated feeling dissipates. Everything stills in the water and little bubbles drift to the surface. The streams of sunlight take center stage. As the calm returns, you look deep in to the tank and see their shapes growing larger again.