U is for Manatees? - A to Z Challenge

Confused, aren’t you? Let me explain. U is the name of a manatee.

I love manatees. They’re peaceful, gentle, and beautiful. I think I saw my first one at Epcot Center, in their Living Seas exhibit. I bored my parents to death with the amount of time I wanted to spend in that place.

Years later, I took John to Disney and Epcot, and inevitably we ended up at the Living Seas. He hid his boredom better, at least. At the end of the day, I found a stuffed manatee in the gift shop. This thing was about 3 feet in length, and I just had to have it! Yes, I realize I’m a grown woman who is professing a need for buying a stuffed animal. But if Laurell Hamilton (and Anita Blake!) can like stuffed penguins, I can have manatees.

Tee, Manny, U, and Herb

So I go home with the 3-foot manatee, who gets named Tee. It’s natural, then for the next manatee, a much smaller one, to be named U. And later, a tiny 6 inch long manatee named V. V, unfortunately, got lost in an Atlantic City hotel room, and was replaced by Manny. Don’t look at me - I didn’t name him. He came with his name already on his tag. And last but not least, my Toasty Manatee, an aromatherapy animal filled with herbs I can nuke in the microwave to make it nice and warm. Great for muscle aches! This one is named Herb. Campy, I know, but I just HAD to!

There you have it, the story of why U is for manatee. (This is perhaps the silliest blog I’ve written this month!)

I’m heading out of town today for a writer’s conference in Salem this weekend, and somewhere along the way, we’ll be checking out an aquarium. I wonder if I’ll come home with any new manatees?