A Fish Tale...

The whole thing started when the kids went off track the beginning of April.  Braden was looking through his scout book looking for things he needed to work on.  He came and asked me how he was going to be able to take care of a pet if we didn't have any.  I thought about it and decided we could get a goldfish and that would count.  Easy enough.  So on Tuesday (April 17th) we went to the pet store and the kids each picked out one goldfish.  It was a 60 cent investment plus a few dollars for the fish flakes.  I was feeling very good about things and the kids were so excited about having a pet of their very own.  They named their fish on the way home.  Tas-b-n (Braden's), Cali (Taylor), Kylie (Ella), Bella (Lily).  We got home and got a deep salad bowl out for their new home.  They warned me at the pet store that goldfish were really dirty fish and were a lot of work if you kept them together and didn't have a filter.  The ammonia they produce can become toxic if the water isn't changed.  I wasn't too worried because I wasn't trying to have these goldfish live for 75 years.  (Yes, they can live that long.  Who knew?)  The kids were in love with these fish and all their friends came over to see them.  I on the other hand couldn't handle to smell.  I would change their water at least twice a day and they still stunk.  On Sunday we went to church and the fish bowl water didn't get change.  When we got home Taylor went to go check on the fish and came running to me telling me that her fish died.  Seriously?  Of all the kids Taylor is the animal lover and super sensitive so I was really hoping that her fish wouldn't die first.  That plan failed.  It was painful.  Really painful.  Taylor sobbed, cried, wailed, lamented...repeated 10 times.  Andy wanted to flush the fish down the toilet.  Taylor wasn't going to have anything to do with it.  She wanted to bury it.  So, with all of us in our church clothes we went into the backyard to find a spot to bury Cali.  Andy dug the hole, Taylor placed her fish (now wrapped in a paper towel) in the ground, Andy buried it, and then Taylor completely lost it.  Andy offered a prayer of comfort for Taylor and then we went back inside the house.  Taylor curled up in a ball and just cried.  It was the saddest thing to watch.  Her heart was so broken.  We promised her that we would go get her a new fish.  Flash forward 2 more days to Tuesday.  It was a really busy day and again I didn't get to change the water.  Lily's fish died.  Much less traumatic but still the kids were sad.  Flash forward 2 more days to Thursday.  Another busy day and I didn't get to changing the water.  Braden's fish died.  Andy decided at this point if we were going to carry on with having fish we needed to get a fish tank.  I really, really didn't want these fish to be a long term thing and wasn't too keen on the idea of investing in a fish tank.  Flash forward 2 more days to Saturday and we became the owners of a 10 gallon fish tank, complete with light, filter, bubbler...all the things that fish need.  The kids each picked out a new fish (even though Ella's fish was still alive).  Andy researched all things fish that week and we upgraded to different fish and got rock and plants for the tank to officially be pet owners.  The fish we doing fine until 2 weeks ago when Taylor's fish died (seriously!) and then 2 days later Braden's fish died.  Then this week Lily's fish died.  A few days later Ella's fish died.  And then there was 1...

Conclusion:  We're not getting a dog anytime soon.  ;)  Ok, we would never get a dog.  So I've concluded that I'm not a fish whisperer and I'm ok with it.