Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...

This afternoon was blessedly free from any type of practice or scheduled activity (which seriously just does NOT happen anymore around here), and after an already looong week (yes, I know it’s only Wednesday, but we’ve all had the dreaded TAKS fever this week), the kids played for a while, had a snack, but then wanted to watch some T.V.

So in the interest of educational televison, (I mean, something more educational than Phineas and Ferb, which admittedly, IS very educational in its own right), I had recorded the series, ‘Life’ on the Discovery Channel. There were about a dozen hour long episodes in the series, and we have all of them on our DVR.

If you haven’t seen an episode, they really are a wonder to behold. According to Discovery Channel’s website, more than 70 camerapersons spent more than 3,000 days over four years figuring out how to film reclusive creatures in hostile or impenetrable places. And the results are truly spectacular, so I don’t feel as guilty letting the kids lounge on the couch, learning about the circle of life, while I fry up a bison for dinner. (Hey, it’s the circle of life, friends.)

Oh, and it’s narrated by none other than Oprah. Oprah freakin’ Winfrey, y’all. Which is cool… but… um…


I just can’t get used to Oprah telling my children all about the mating habits of the cuttlefish. ‘Cause it’s Oprah, and all?

And as I’m listening to her oh-so-distinctive voice, I keep expecting to hear: “On today’s show… the CUTTTTTLE FIIIISH!” Instead, as I’m cooking dinner, I hear the following…


Oprah: To inseminate the female, the male lays a sperm sack near the female’s mouth.

Davis: Look… they’re kissing… GROSS!

Me: Um, yeah… they’re KISSING. Blech.



And then? Well, then, Oprah is all, like, “After the deed is done…”

And *I’m* all, like… “Really, Oprah? REALLY? ‘After the deed is done’? Delivered in that bemused voice of yours?”


But the kids are utterly fascinated by the shows. And who knows? Maybe I have three little future wildlife scientists on my hands. Marine biologists. Ichthyologists. Botanists. Ecologists.


And maybe one day, one of *my* babies will be standing up in front of their graduating class, holding their diploma and making a speech, just before they embark on their fellowship to Queensland to study the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat (yes, it’s true!), and I’ll be the proud mother beaming from the audience…

My eyes brimming with tears of joy… as they stand up, and say, ‘I’d just like to thank a very special woman for being the voice of inspiration for me...








Thank you, Oprah!’