SeaWorld

Since I am planning on printing this out as a memory of our year I need to include a post on SeaWorld and the awful tragedy that happened this week.

One of SW's most experienced trainers was killed Wednesday during a Dine With Shamu experience.  It looks now like Tilli (the whale) grabbed the trainer's pony tail for whatever reason and she died of trauma and drowning.  There is some home video captured just seconds before that awful tragedy http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100227/ap_on_re_us/us_seaworld_death  Dawn was absolutely doing what she loved and I pray her family and SW family hold that peace in their hearts.

We told Lina because I didn't want her to hear in school and there is a 1st grade mom who is a trainer at SW so I figure word would get around.  Lina wanted to know "why" and "how".  I spared the details on Wednesday and Thursday, but today I shared with her what happened and we watched the video above and then our local news had footage from the first "Believe" show since Wednesday.  I wish we could have been there- but the weather was awful.

Lina first rattled off all her whale facts.  She IS doing her Independent Study on killer whales.  Thursday her teacher called to let me know she "wasn't feeling well".  I picked Lina up early and she asked if the trainer was a mom.  No.  She didn't have any children- animals and lots of family and friends and a husband.  It's not unusual for the girls to "play" SW on a Saturday since we have every SW stuffed animal in our house and today they did just that. And I heard Lina say- "we will just reward with claps and fish today".  I think Lina is just trying to process it all.  She LOVES SW.  She LOVES those animals. 

It's awful to think about.  I find my mind wandering thinking about what happened and then I think about my little girls next to those big fish and my heart races and I get chills.  I am a grown adult thinking like that.  My little 6 year old is thinking about that also.  It's just so tragic.