One Fish, Two Fish, Dead Fish, New Fish

People tend to give mourners some room. Humans are generally compassionate people. When there has been a death in the family, bosses, friends, extended family, social acquaintances, they all allow the grievor some space, some mistakes, a little leeway and opportunity to be less than the norm. I’m hoping that your generosity of spirit dear readers will be extended to the death of a fish, because through the process of how to deal with the demise of the first pet, the move home from the cottage, a re-stocking of house and school supples, the first days of school and registration for fall activities, I missed my post deadlines.

I am truly very sorry. I am usually writing these entries in my head all day long and in the last week, my brain has been so full with the business of life, my writing has taken a back seat.

And on top of all the usual early September demands, Pinky Nemo died. He, who was actually a she as we discovered post-mortem, gave close to a loyal year of service. The Gaffer became enamoured with the idea of a fish when she developed a fondness for Pinky, the Betta that lives at her babysitter’s house. Mr. Husband has a thing about no pets who pee in the house, but the Betta, which actually has a life span 3x that of a goldfish, seemed to come in just under the wire. Originally christened ‘Nemo’, he/she became quickly became ‘Pinky Nemo’ in honour of Tiffany’s fish.

Pinky Nemo was a loyal little fella. After numerous trips around the house in measuring cups and dry air calisthenics on the kitchen counter when fished out of the bowl for petting, I began to believe Pinky Nemo may be indestructible. Alas, that was not the case and when we arrived home from a summer away, PN was ‘asleep’ on the bottom of the bowl, nestled amongst the brilliant blue and orange rocks.

As I was contemplating just how to explain death to the Gaffer she said, "poor little fella, you must be very tired." Never one to sneeze at a good opportunity for avoidance, I suggested we take Pinky Nemo out of the tank and put him in the toilet for a good sleep. Of course, this dvd-raised child has so many images of Gill and Nigel explaining how to escape the dreaded life of a dentist’s aquarium through the sanitation system that she happily placed Pinky Nemo in the toilet and flushed him away cheering, "have fun with your friends, Pinky Nemo!"

We then trotted off to Super Pet for another fish, "red or blue this time, Momma." 

The new Pinky Nemo seems just as happy as her predecessor. She is just as dull and pale and PN1. Apparently the red and blue Pinky Nemos are not as exciting up close. I’m OK with this, the females are also 5-6 dollars cheaper.

I was so worried about how I would use this opportunity to teach the Gaffer about death and she taught me a lesson in resilience and moving on. Now if only I could have these lovely moments with my daughter and remember to post my blog, I could be invincible!