RIP Red

Yesterday we said goodbye to a member of our family who most of you never even knew as a member of a family. On Thursdsay when we were at Wal-Mart, Aubrey asked me if he could get a Betta fish. I said sure because we already had a fishbowl and fish are easy pets I think. When we got in the car I told Aubrey he had to name the fish and he said, "I already did! His name is Red!" Of course! What else would he name a red fish? (He also helped name his class gerbils lighter and darker. Yes, because they are lighter and darker.)

We got home and put the fish in Aubrey's room. I told him that he could not play in the water because he was putting his fingers in it. I thought (mistakenly) that would be the end of it. I caught him a couple of times after that on Thursday and Friday playing in the water. I finally told him on Saturday morning that if I saw it again, the fish would come live in the kitchen area where I could keep a better eye on him.

Aubrey's cousin and partner in crime, Hayden, came over to play on Saturday. They play so well together and have a blast. I was doing things around the house and was going to put some towels away in Aubrey's bathroom. To get to the bathroom you have to go into Aubrey's room, but when I tried to open the door it was locked. I knocked and Aubrey opened the door. I walked in and said, "What are you guys doing?" They just kind of looked around and said, "Nothing." (you know the word that means I'm doing something I'm not supposed to be) I looked over at the fishbowl and there were water droplets . I said, "Aubrey, what are you doing with the fish?" He said, "I just wanted to pet it!" I said, "What did you do?" He told me that he picked the fish out of the bowl by his fin. So, I reminded him that now I had to take Red into the kitchen to live. When I got Red to the kitchen, I noticed that he was at the bottom of the bowl! I couldn't believe it. So, to finish this long story, Red ended up (after about a half hour of suffering) going to the great fishbowl in the sky. Aubrey was devastated, crying and saying that it was all his fault. Of course I couldn't argue with that, but reminded him that this was a hard lesson in obedience-that we have rules for a reason.

One final note - While we were having Red's funeral in the bathroom, I said, "Goodbye, Red, you were a good fish." Aubrey was crying and said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you I changed his name to "Black/Purple/Red"." Well, he's consistent if nothing else. And there went a member of our family as quickly as he joined us.