Under the waves pt 2

It was a mild wind that blew in to Osaka from the bay. We journeyed in to Osaka from Kobe which is the city on the opposite side of the bay and the cities have grown around the bay towards each other it has become a mega city really with no apparent divide other that street signs and postal addresses. Indeed, the night time view from the southern slopes of Mount Rokko to the north sees both cities lit up against the dark sea and sky and the view is astoundingly breath taking.
Panoramic view (slow to load).

All business concluded, we spent our last day in the Harbor village with the Angels wanting to see the Kaiyukan (sea pavilion playground). It is a huge aquarium with some of the tanks inside being as big as small houses and within them we can see life from all around the pacific in artificially created natural environments (is that an oxymoron)? As we look at all the life I wonder if they look back at us?
I remember once as a child I was very close to a Dolphin at the sea world across Tokyo bay in Kamogawa and I was intensely drawn to his deep black eyes and I felt that he was staring deeply into mine. I remember feeling it was very hard to breathe and I wondered if I felt what he was feeling as if there was some telepathic link. He had been pulled out of the water on a wet tarpaulin while a Veterinary physician was looking at him. I felt if I could read his mind could he read mine?
It was after that visit to Chiba that I never again ate whale or dolphin meat.
We do not serve it in our restaurant and I won't have it in my home. Sadly in Osaka we were not very far away from the town of Taiji, which is infamous for its cruel annual hunt of small whales and dolphins and is often the target for protesters. We humans eat many other animals and if we were a starving hunter we would perhaps kill and eat almost any animal. But in this day of enlightenment some animals should be not allowed on our menus. It's a good thing that our children learn about the varied and diverse life that we share this world with and how we as responsible people can do our best to harmonize with nature more. My children know my feelings about this topic and they agree with me. I have thanked them for their agreement and their loyalty but I explained that as they grow they must go out into the world and learn what they can and then once they can understand the many varied and different points of view, should they choose which path to follow.

Hitomi teased the angels a little by pretending to write down the names of the sea life we viewed in her notebook. Any of the creatures that made the children say "Aawww" in a cute way she'd write in her book and told them that she'd order it for us all later in the seafood restaurant.

In a throat -lumped heart stopping moment, Ricochan turned around to Hitomi and begged, "No Mama, please don't do that!"
Hitomi froze and simply stared at Riko and then looked up at me with her eyes glistening with moisture. That was the first time Riko had ever addressed Hitomi as 'Mama'. Hitomi turned her back to us to hide her eyes and said that she'd tear up the notepad page. She also reached for her paper tissue. I know she wanted to sneeze as she 'teared up!'

Hitomi and I spoke about it later that night after we had all returned home and the children had gone to bed. Of course it had meant a lot to her. The children have always called me Mama and they have always called Hitomi as Oba (Auntie) but the truth is that Hitomi is a mother to our children just as much as I am. She was thrilled with such an address of course but somehow she had been worried if in case I may be upset or would have corrected Riko. I was not and I did not and truth be known I was quite happy not only for Hitomi to be addressed as such but also in the way that little Riko saw her.
I then spoke to Hitomi at length regarding my only concern with all of this which is the possibility of confusion. The angels are growing up in a home with two parents but with both of their parents being their mothers. They do have a male role model in their Uncle Hiro next door to us but is this enough?
It is enough for me to suddenly realize that I think that when I feel that the time is right and they understand relationships a little more than they do at present, we will all sit down together and talk openly and freely so that they truly understand.
I don't want them suffering from any misapprehensions.

Incidentally we ate Kobe beef at a Teppanyaki restaurant before we caught the train home. Fish did not seem appropriate that night!