You Lived With the Seals

Do you remember the first time I took you to see the seals at Pier 36? You were probably around four years old.

The big city was such an adventure then. We left the countryside and drove for over an hour to get there.

It was foggy on the way down. But by the time we got to the pier the sky was so bright but you didn’t have sunglasses, you were four. So we bought that pair, remember, the green ones you were obsessed with that you cried over for a week when Jack sat on them and broke them?

There were so many seals that day. And oh my God, were you mesmerized by them. They were sunning themselves out on those wooden planks all linked together by those rusty chains that looked like they had been in the water for decades.

Some seals were just laying there, others were jumping off the platforms, darting under the water and then popping back up on another platform.

There was that one that would muscle its way into a tight spot pushing another seal over and into the water and you thought that was hilarious.

The noises they made I thought were so jarring and loud and piercing. And constant. But you laughed so hard for like three hours.

And I had this whole day planned for us on the pier:
We’d see the seals.
Then we’d play some games in the arcade.
Then we’d walk along the promenade.
Then maybe we’d grab a bite to eat.

But you did not want to leave the seals and we just sat there the whole time. The whole time!

You Lived With the Seals

And you refused to leave and we sat there until we had to start making our way home. And you cried and cried and you kicked the back of my seat half the way home until you fell asleep cause you were so mad at me for making you leave.

Yes, this is when it started! Don’t you remember? You started telling us about how you lived with the seals before and then you rode one to the beach and then you walked and walked until you came upon our yellow house and knew your mom and dad were in there and that was how you arrived.

I said, you didn’t grow in my tummy? And you said, no, I lived with the seals first before I was born AND THEN I came here to live with you and dad.

I loved little you. I mean, I still love you, but little you was just … I wish you remembered that first time we saw the seals. I should have videoed it.