Boy does time fly. Things in life are so different as an adult than when I was a child. That said, it's nice to know there are a few constants.

I am a mother of two beautiful boys now. And because they are school-aged children, a character from my childhood, Dippy Duck, has reentered my life.

I attended a country school that was located right next to one of IID's main water-delivery arteries for the valley (a very, very large canal.) And my home was bordered by a large canal and many irrigation ditches. Our large canal was unlined for a very long time, but eventually I was able to watch them as they lined it with concrete (for a girl that didn't have TV to watch, this was incredibly interesting.)

Anyway, suffice to say, canals were omnipresent in my daily routine. And, I had a character to associate them with... Dippy Duck. I loved the school assemblies, my coloring book and his song, "Dippy Duck says stay away, canals are not the place to play, etc." (I'm much older now, and I still remember the words.) He was fun, but he still accomplished his job - I didn't play in the canal and my parents didn't have to worry that I would.

Canals are less present in my boys daily life, since our home is not so rurally-located. We do however have a pool. One of our families past times include jumping into the car and cruising. They are very aware of canals and the canals' importance to all of us as Imperial Valley residents. And, of course, how water safety is universally important.

I think of Dippy with fondness. I can't say specifically why, its just a nice piece of fun nostalgia and a time of innocence for me. It's so lovely to see that in them too. Like I said, life/things are so different, but they are the same too.