Regina and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Yesterday was not a good day.

I was still feeling the burst of motivation and excitement that comes after a day out on the water. On Sunday, I found a perfect little weather window and took my team of staff, interns, and volunteers out for a quick whale watch. We were like kids in a candy store as everyone was beaming while we watched open mouth feeding humpbacks, lunging finbacks, and saw quick glimpses of minke whales. I am most at peace on the water, admiring these amazing animals. It was an incredible day.

Yesterday was quite the opposite. Worse than the opposite. Yesterday, I received devastating news -  two dead right whales found in the same day. I immediately called my team to fill them in. After one right whale death earlier this month and another less than a week ago, it felt like a cruel joke and I asked them all to gather together as I only had it in me to break the news once.

Silence.

None of us knew what to say. The next step was a steady stream of expletives. It feels like déjà vu of the worst kind and we don’t know how to process the news.

This is a horrible flashback to 2017 when 17 right whales died. Until yesterday, I never truly thought this species would disappear in my lifetime. It is surreal to think that only a couple of months ago, I stood on a cliff in south Plymouth, surrounded by my dedicated staff, and we were giddy watching 19 right whales feeding in Cape Cod Bay. I want to go back to being giddy.

To be completely honest, I’m struggling with what to tell all of you. I wish there was a simple answer -  an action I could tell you to take that would solve all of the problems, but unfortunately there is no silver bullet. Together, we have all been working so hard and fighting for this species and right now, it just hurts.

So today, let’s just let it sink in. Let’s feel all the feels and allow ourselves to be devastated. Take today to be miserable. Today, we take the hit and tomorrow, we turn our sorrow into fuel to continue the fight.

Yesterday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.