Back in September, Madison won a little fish at the fair. I was sure the thing would die within days, so I tried not to get too attached. I bought some food for him, and we put him in a little tank, and that was that. She named him Gills (creative, huh?). I never reminded her to feed him, and only cleaned the tank when she insisted that it needed to be done. Regardless of how many times I told her that the Gills the fish would not last long, Madison loved that little guy - she fed him regularly twice a day, and (almost) never missed a feeding.
Then we moved.Of course I was sure that the stress of the three hour road trip would do him in... but no - he survived the move. For the past week or so, Madison had been pestering me to clean out the tank, and I put it off for a few days, and finally got around to it on Friday. Poor little Gills did not appreciate that at all - he seemed a little listless after I put him back in the tank. Then, Saturday morning we woke up to discover that Gills had finally had it - he died during the night. Even though I had expected him to die sooner or later, and had reminded Madison often that it would probably be sooner than later, she was heartbroken.
After sufficient mourning had taken place, we went to the pet store to see about getting a new fish. If it had been up to me, I would have gotten one of the little ten cent fish - that's what Gills had been, and he lasted six months.... But no, we had to bring dad along to the pet store. When dad's along, the rules are different. Together they picked out a cute, fat, roundy goldfish. She named him Sam. We brought him home and put him in the little tank that had been Gills' home, which seemed a little small for him. After a day, he didn't seem to be doing well - he wasn't very active, and hadn't eaten anything. We decided the tank was too small for him, so went back to the pet store to get a bigger one. And new gravel. And plants. So, here we are now, about $40 or $50 later (I've lost track of just how much this has cost us) with Sam the fish in a big fancy tank.
I am certain that Madison had taken some pictures of Gills at some point, but I can't find them anywhere. I think I must have deleted them. :-(
After all, why would I keep pictures of a silly fish!
Apparently, I won't be winning mother of the year.
So, before this guy croaks, I'd like to introduce...
...Sam the fish.
I do have to feed and clean up after him. I don't know if he goes looking for trouble, or if trouble just finds him - but whichever it is, he and trouble are never far apart!
After a few quick stitches I managed to get him fixed up...
