Here Fishy Fishy

I can't remember if i mentioned that we inherited Angela's kids' betta fish. Since they're moving, they've had to find homes for two gerbils, one tweety bird (parakeet?) and a betta fish. They're keeping the dog but she's already living in Utah with relatives.

So. I was willing to take the fish. I'd toyed with getting the boys a fish as a first pet so it was an easy decision.

The boys dubbed him "Fishy" and I gave the boys some ownership by letting them choose a bigger bowl to move him to, choose new pebbles and nice it up with a plant. I fretted about the water temperature in his bowl since we keep our house pretty cool. I was assured by Angela that he is a hardy fish and that his water is always on the cool side.

I gave a lot of thought to the cool water and considered putting the bowl on a hotplate (at a very low temperature!). My sister suggested a heating pad. In the end, i ended up putting the bowl at one of my kitchen windows so the sunshine could heat it up somewhat. When i commented to Doug that the fish was stressing me out and he told me it wasn't something worth getting stressed about, my response was, "I expect living creatures in my home to be healthy and happy!" And this includes fish.

From the get-go, Fishy seemed a bit dull and often lifeless. Angela did say they'd had him about a year, which she thought was a long time. So, in addition to the plant, and in an attempt to perk Fishy up and make his home a happy one, we decided Fishy needed a companion. We bought an African dwarf frog. Yes, the boys dubbed him "Froggy." He's really fun to watch. Very active in comparison to Fishy. But i still fretted about the water temp and now fret about Froggy's welfare, too.

Yesterday, the boys wanted to see Fishy and couldn't get a good look at him. I spun the bowl around so they could see and realized Fishy was no longer with us. D-E-A-D. I quickly directed the boys back to their snacks because i didn't want to deal with death and dying right there and then.

After Bode's quiet time, i told him i needed to talk to him. I told him that Fishy died this morning. Bode's eyes got so big. I asked him if he knew what the word "died" meant and he said no. So i told him that Fishy's body stopped working but that the thing that made him alive (his spirit) went to Fishy Heaven. Is that too over-the-top? Oh well. I was sort of winging it. There could be fish in heaven, right? He said something about Fishy living forever and I told him Fishy had a good long life with lots of friends (including Bode, Keegen, Zeke and Froggy) and we just happened to get him at the end of his life (I was NOT going to get into the concept of resurrection and eternity!!;>). I asked if he wanted to see Fishy's body and he did. I asked if he thought we should bury him in the backyard (frozen) or put him into the pond on the golf course and he opted for the pond. He said something that made me think he thought that if we put him in the pond he'd come back to life, so i told him that wouldn't happen but that he'd help feed the plants (ahem). Anyway. He then asked if Froggy would live forever and i said no, but he's alive and kickin' now so enjoy him while he lasts (not in those words). I thought he took it all very well.

Tonight Froggy gave me a scare. Was acting very lethargic. I quickly (had Doug) scooped him out of the bowl he'd shared with Fishy and cleaned the thing out. Get the smell of death out of the bowl and give the guy a fresh start, right? He seems to have perked up. Now, does Froggy need a companion? We'll see.

So you know what put me in hysterics this afternoon? When we got home from church and i saw what Bode had done in his Sunbeams (little kids' Sunday School) class. The topic was "I Am Thankful for Fish." And they played a fishing game. HA! Quite the co-ink-ee-dink.

We are thankful for fish indeed. May you rest in peace.