This is back to the summer time when we met up midway with Granna and Pop to pick up Olivia and Evan after their staying in Granna's for two weeks.  We had a dinner at an African restaurant in West Virginia - what a strange combination :).  The food was actually delicious.  The food we ordered were kind of similar to Indian food we tried before which made me think maybe we can make that Kenya trip Dad and I have been thinking about.  Well, that's not what I want to talk about it here. 

 

After dinner and getting some ice cream at an ice cream store next door, we sat on the outside bench and chatted. I think they were talking about some disaster movies when the topic of what can survive a nuclear explosion came up. Olivia said she wondered if the sea turtle could survive. Evan has always been very afraid of death or injury of any kind so just as I expected, he had some thoughts about this.   Evan said in case of nuclear explosion, he would like to turn into a water bear because it is the only living thing can survive the nuclear explosion.  Water bear? I had never heard such thing and nobody had except for Evan. So we Goggled water bear on our phone and it turned out to be this tiny bitty worm thing with 8 legs looking cute and disgusting at the same time.  It can withstand temperatures from just above absolute zero to well above the boiling point of water, pressure about six times greater than those found in the deepest ocean trenches, ionizing radiation at doses hundreds of times higher than the lethal dose for a human, and the vacuum of outer space. They can go without food or water for more than 10 years, dying out to the point where they are 3% or less water, only to rehydrate, forage and reproduce. I don’t think Evan was 100% right as the Wikipedia says while water bears can survive in extreme environments, they are not considered extremophile because they are not adapted to live in these conditions whereas extremophiles are organisms that can thrive in a physically or geochemically extreme condition that would be detrimental to most life on earth. But still, Evan knowing about this little creature while none of us did was impressive.

 

"But Evan,” I asked, "Even if you survive the nuclear explosion as a water bear, isn't it very boring to live as a water bear? You know, so tiny, can't do anything fun?"

 

"That's true, I wish I can still be a human being but can resist the impact of nuclear explosion like a water bear at the same time." Evan said.

 

"Haha, you are day dreaming, buddy." I laughed at his wishful thinking.

 

Evan titled his head at an ankle and looked at me smiling: "Mom, I can dream. There is nothing wrong about dreaming."

 

He was looking really cute when he said that. I suddenly recalled all these sayings about when a person grows up, he/she gradually loses his/her imagination and capability of dreaming (thinking out of the box). And you know what? He is absolutely right about dreaming.

 

"Of course you can, honey. You are absolutely right!" I smiled back to him.  Keep on dreaming my little buddy :).