One Fish, Blue Fish

Now that I have kiddos, I appreciate many things about my parents that I didn't realize were pretty damn cool when I was growing up. For instance, my mom used to bake bread and create gourmet dinners with inspiration from all corners of the globe, and my sister and I would still beg for Wonder Bread and feed rejected forkfuls of our meals to the dog. Despicable.

My parents also let us have pretty much any pet we wanted (though I never did get that ferret or a horse), and we always had multitudes of them. Despite the fact that my dad was horrified by rodents, we had rats (thanks to Mrs. White, my uber cool first grade teacher who also played the saw for us), gerbils, hamsters, and guinea pigs. We had the usual cats and family dog, but we also had parakeets, a cockatiel, newts, and snakes (thanks to Mrs. Jones, my uber cool fourth grade teacher who kept a live rattlesnake in her basement and left us halfway through the year to become a park ranger).

I still have a herd of cats, and though we no longer have a dog, we keep chickens and a duck. I love being surrounded by animals, and Imogen loves them, too. Elliot, however, has never shown much interest in anything zoologic. He liked our dog Oscar for awhile, but now he is mostly wary of dogs, even though he's also amused by Nancy and Vic's crazy dachsund, Clancy.

But a couple of weeks ago, while out on an adventure with Nona and Mr. Vic Victor (visiting the Pet Smart to get supplies for Clancy), Elliot asked if he could have a fish. Neither Thomas nor I has ever been able to get Elliot into a pet store while out on elevator adventures in malls, but that's what grandparents are for, right? Not to mention that, other than food, Elliot never requests anything. Nona called us up, and Elliot asked Papa if he could please have a fish. So we let Nona buy him a fish.

Elliot named him Blue Fish. Here he is, hanging out in his little bowl in Elliot's room. (Note: it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to take a picture of a fish.)


Blue Fish is very low maintenance. We give him fresh water once a week or so, and he only eats every three days. He's pretty and likes looking at his reflection. And Elliot likes to talk to him while setting up blocks on the desk to use as elevator buttons.

Right along with his sister, Elliot has been having a language explosion these days. It's been wonderful to hear him talk about things he did at school, how he'd like to have friends over to play, what he's thinking about and feeling, and what he wants. What's one more pet when it's such a big step for our boy?

So welcome, Blue Fish. You're a nice addition to our zoo.