Monday, August 1, 2011

Shark Week Obsession


What a beautiful animal!
 In the midst of all of the debate on whether or not to raise the debt ceiling, the second favorite Holiday of the Burgess Bunch arrived--and no I am not talking about the celebration of JK Rowling's birthday. IT'S SHARK WEEK BABY!!

Ever since Ian was a tiny tot, he has been interested in animals. Not just their names and the sounds they make but their species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom (that is all I remember from biology. Sorry Mr. Barton). And from an early age, he had a very incredible ability to remember large amounts of facts and data about all sorts of animals. Marine life are among his favorites; sharks and whales his most favorite. (He says he wants to be an FBI agent but I wouldn't be shocked if he was working as a biologist one day). Hence, our love of Shark Week was born and each year, we all veg out on the couch for hours taking in every show that Discovery has to offer about sharks; even ones we have seen many times before.

This morning at 6:30 am, Ian came to my bedside to ask me what channel he needed to punch on the remote to get to Discovery Channel. Seriously. Obsessed. So we got up and started watching it. I left for the office and they had it on when I got home. Poor Will was so exhausted from 'shark watching' that he fell asleep on the couch early tonight while we learned about Shark migration patterns. Which turned out to be a good thing because Rogue Sharks ended up being quite gruesome. I even had to reassure Ian that he had a better chance of being struck by lightening than being attacked by a shark. I think he believed me. If not, he might not be a biologist after all.

And honestly, I am not a huge advocate of my kids watching a ton of TV. I believe in hours of play in the back yard. But Shark Week is an exception. For one, it is hot as blue blazes outside and I don't feel like having to sit in the heat to watch them play. Two, we really are learning a lot about science, sharks, marine life, and conservation. Even though his stomach turned a little when we watched the man literally be carried ashore with the shark still attached to his leg, Ian understood that it really wasn't the shark's fault. Thanks to programs like this and steady guidance from my conservationist Dad, the boys really have a deep respect for the fact that animals share the planet with us. Just like they know not to kill a snake (even when poisonous) because he is just as afraid of you as you are of him, they know that if you swim into a shark's habitat (ocean), you can't blame him for taking a test bite hoping you are a seal. That is an amazing lesson of appreciation for our planet to learn at such an early age. They know their outdoor pleasures (hunting and fishing) aren't just for sport, but really are about conservation; keeping numbers in a healthy realm to protect from overpopulation, disease, food supply, etc.  It makes me very proud of them.

So as we celebrate Shark Week, we hope that you will take the time to do your part to be a leader in conservation on our planet. Recycle. Plant a Tree. Respect Wildlife and their Habitats. Educate. Preserve. Conserve. And most of all, watch Shark Week. Trust us, you will love it!

Checking out a Copperhead at the Farm with Poppa.
It turned out to have been run over by a car but if not,
 we would have let him be!  

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