I loved cartoons as a kid.  I still love the classics as an adult … from Pepe le Pew to Scooby Doo.  In the past couple of years thanks to my little one I have found myself watching a new generation of cartoons like “Paw Patrol,” “Sophia the First,” and “The Octonauts.”  I would like to be writing but I think it is important to spend time with loved ones doing what they enjoy.  Our favorite program is the underwater adventures of the Octonauts, a group of animal explorers who travel the ocean in order to help creatures in distress.  Captain Barnacles is the polar bear who leads them, Kwazzi the cat is the Lieutenant, Peso the penguin is the medic, Shellington the sea otter (my favorite) is the marine biologist, Dashi the Dachshund is the IT officer and photographer, Tweak the rabbit is the engineer, and Professor Inkling is the octopus oceanographer and founder of the group.  The feminist in me likes that both the information technology officer and the engineer are both girls.  And yes clearly I have spent some time watching this.  The coolest part of the cartoon is at the end of each mission when they show actual footage of the creature they saved during their “creature report.”  I have discovered a lot and it is fascinating.  For instance I learned about the coconut crab, whom I had no idea existed.  They can weigh up to nine pounds and be over three feet in length!  They are the largest terrestrial arthropod and invertebrate in the world!  Speaking of incredibly big things, when Burk and I found out the Octonauts were coming to town I’m not sure which of the three of us was the most excited.  The cost to get in to see this show was, in my opinion, sheer highway robbery.  See that cool twirly thing she’s holding?  $20!  I remember going to the circus as a kid (something I will never do now if it involves live animals) and one of the highlights was my folks getting me this red and blue light that changed colors when you slung it in a circle.  No expending energy for this generation … they simply turn on a button and a myriad of different light patterns emerge.  Beer and pizza was OUTRAGEOUS and worse, the center had bars with no bartenders.  The whole thing came close to my idea of Hell.  I adore the cartoon and love kids shows, but for me this one fell short.  Did our little one have a good time?  You bet!  It was thrilling to see the cartoon characters “live.”  But our time spent together as a family was what was most important.  The Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev once said:

“Time sometimes flies like a bird, sometimes crawls like a snail; but a man is happiest when he does not even notice whether it passes swiftly or slowly.”

This show oddly passed both swiftly and slowly.  I was still trying to process how much money we’d dropped and we didn’t even pay extra for the VIP pass where she could have met the characters.  I was sick about that until I found out it was only Captain Barnacles and Tweak.  I was hoping to see Shellington and our little one loves Peso because she wants to be a vet.  So that was a zillion dollars saved.  Regardless of the money, the most important thing a family can spend together is time; it is simply priceless.