Cosmic Lemurs

Lemurs live on a little island near the food court at the Indianapolis Zoo. There is a moat surrounding the island where a great many ducks make their home. Kids like to throw bits of bread and cookies into the water, which makes the ducks very happy. Divina and I have lunch beside this island-moat almost once a week. Our visit last week turned out to be an almost spiritual experience. Autum is coming and the air is cool and breezy, but sunshine still warms us. Your back is warmed by the sun, but your front is cooled by the air. It makes you keenly aware of the environment and your body in it. I enjoyed watching the lemurs emerge from their rock house. They came around the bend like a street gang descending on their turf... tails bouncing about like flags, they strut. A group of school kids noticed the lemurs, too, and gathered at a spot on the human side of the moat. The lemurs saw the congregation and gathered on their side of the moat. Each group raised their heads high on their necks to check each other out, as many lemurs as school kids. Soon the kids started throughing food across the moat to the lemurs, who rushed to catch the treats. There was a game of it...food flying, lemurs chasing. The ducks were in on it, too; sometimes the food would land in the water. As quickly as it started, it ended, when a responsible adult noticed the infraction (feeding the lemurs is against the rules, you know). This was all very entertaining, for both me and Divina, and I wondered if she could feel the excitment yet cool playfulness of the day. This time of year always takes me back many, many years. I am so fortunate to have Little Miss in my life. Sharing my days with her reminds me time and again how lovely and fun our world is. People spend so much time trying to figure out the meaning of life that they often miss life itself. What is the purpose of life but to enjoy it? It can be found watching cocky lemurs.

It's times like this that I want to share with my family and friends. It's hard on us being away from so many of the people we love. We have found this wonderful key to life, a gateway to cosmic exploration. Life with our daughter is such an adventure, its a shame to do it alone. We are frustrated that we can't be with everyone as we grow with her. It seems at times that we have changed so much since she joined us. Our evolution is being missed by the people closest to our hearts which creates a chasm only visible from our side.