Jessica

I would like you to meet Jessica. She is a little fish (who could very likely be a male for all I know) that belonged to my oldest girl. Lindsay loved this fish. In the entire time span of a whopping 4 1/2 weeks apparently they became inseparable. But today they are indeed separated--a sink drain, a maze of pipes and perhaps a unknown lake separate 2 dear friends. Today, after several days of mourning, I have been given permission to break the silence and tell the awful tale.

When Dan and I were in Mexico, Lindsay went out for a 'girls night out' with one of my friends. They came home with a little red beta fish, complete with bowl and food. The fish was promptly and lovingly named Jessica. Doesn't it look like a Jessica?

When we got home from holidays a few days later, I was rather surprised to find that we had acquired a new pet. But seeing as the work involved sprinkling a few bits of food on top of the water and cleaning the glass living quarters once a week, I really didn't mind. I had kept 5 kids alive so far...how hard would it be to keep a fish?

The fish thrived. Every morning Lindsay asked me if I had fed it yet. Sometimes she fed it, most of the time I did. Every week we diligently cleaned out the bowl. Things were going well.

Then...(I need a tuba to emit some sombre notes here) one morning it was time to clean out the fish bowl. All the children gathered around--some perched on the counter, others crowding around on chairs. I caught little Jessica and put her in a cup of water. I proceeded to soap out the bowl and as I was rinsing it out, the 3 year old felt he was purposely being denied a good viewing of the events. In anger, he grabbed the cup and hurled it and its precious contents into the sink.

There...there lay Jessica flapping helplessly right over top of the drain hole opening. I lunged at the little red fish, but she slipped...she slipped...
Down...

Down...

Down...

the drain.

It was silent. We all took some time to comprehend what exactly had just taken place. 5 heads peered into that sink simultaneously...10 eyes were riveted on the triple holed drain. In 15 seconds a friendship was shattered. (insert a very slow, dramatic violin piece here)

Lindsay responded first. Oh what came out of her in that moment can only be described as a hysterical wail. Oh how that girl sobbed. To make matters worse, one of her 'practical' brothers made comments that, well, were true, but oh, SO not helpful. ("Lindsay, you're not going to see your fish again...")

We had often talked to Lindsay earlier, warning her and explaining to her that generally fish do not live long. It took a bit but she did understand that the fish would die one day. Unfortunately, we forgot to warn her about the random spontaneity of a three year old's temper.

I felt quite badly for the girl. I took her to a separate place, held her and tried to talk to her. No, her fish was not dead. Water constantly goes down the drain and ends up in a big lake of some sort. Through her tears she asked me if Jessica would have enough food to eat. "Of course," I replied. "There is all kinds of bacteria and edible morsels down there." Next Lindsay asked if Jessica would be alone. I responded in the negative, telling her that I'm sure that there are more fish down there that will keep her company. WRONG ANSWER! A look of horror filled Lindsay's face. "Mom! Jessica is a Beta fish and if she she's another Beta fish they will fight...and I don't want Jessica to fight. She might die!" Well...I asked Lindsay if she remembered how big Pigeon Lake was. it was unlikely that Jessica could find another beta in SUCH a big lake. We kept talking and after about 30 minutes Lindsay calmed down.

We finally got settled to do school again. Lindsay opened her Math book and this is what she reads.....

Bill had 14 goldfish and 8 guppies in his fish tank. Bill has how many
more goldfish than guppies?

Then there was a picture of a whole bunch of fish swimming in a tank. Needless to say, the fragile seal broke and the water works came gushing out again.

Lindsay will be getting a new fish. We have asked, however, if she can wait until we have moved, just in case the new fish doesn't handle 'transport' well. Lindsay has agreed. Since then, she has faithfully spoken of her fish everyday. Such a friend is apparently not quickly forgotten.

And even I must admit that I miss the little fish too. The clean bowl is sitting in my room, the marbles still resting on the bottom of the glass bowl. I miss seeing Lindsay's excited reaction to the fish and I thought that it was a rather pretty fish too. Believe it or not...I'm already looking forward to having Jessica 2.