Maria and Robin had a blast at the zoo yesterday; I didn’t quite realize how much alike the two of them are in their love of animals.

They could barely contain their excitement in the Mouse House, Robin spotting the mice down below, Maria looking higher up to spot them.

This all started in the darkened Mouse House; they put their heads together and started watching.

There is no creature, large or small, that Maria loves to see and learn about. The child in each of them connected with the child in the other, I think, and they were sharing observations and sightings all afternoon.

They both are bright and curious and had a lot to share.

Everywhere we went, the two of them clustered together, pointing out one discovery after another. It was a beautiful thing for me to see.

Robin is very close to my ex-wife Paula, who takes care of her two or three days a week. She has been somewhat confused about Maria’s role in my life since I am a grandfather and Paula, her grandmother.

So what is Maria? Yesterday, she was a fellow animal lover and a friend. That alone was worth the trip.

The sun was only out for a little while, but we came across some giraffes who were eating leaves off a tree just above us. We sat on a bench and watched them for a while.