Thursday, February 2, 2012

RIP Midnight

If you ever had a goldfish for a pet as a child, you know first hand how long they live. 

It's a short life.

When The Girl first asked for a goldfish almost two years ago, the first scenario that came to my mind was that we would buy all this stuff for a fish, it would only live for a few weeks, and then I would have a devastated child who mourned the life of said fish for longer than the fish actually lived.  Scenario two was we would have this fish, she would keep it in her room, and each month I would come in and clean out the nasty aquarium cursing the day I agreed to the whole idea.

Scenario two was the path we took.  Except, I only cursed once in a while. 

And it was all inside my head. 

Unless, The Hubs was around, and then I let him know how I felt.

I was SHOCKED that our fish made it as long as it did.  Who knew goldfish could live for almost two years?  The Girl was a fantastic goldfish momma.  She always remembered to feed it, she decorated the aquarium, and paid close enough attention to the fish to know when he/she was not doing well, or needed the water refreshed (AKA needed her mom to clean the tank).

Unfortunately, Midnight got a bad case of swim bladder disease, and never recovered.  Interestingly enough, or not, this is the same way Calico died just a few months earlier.  I guess it's a common thing, and after reading that article, it is treatable and preventable.  Ooops.  I guess we are a day late and a dollar short.

I was very proud of The Girl.  She handled everything very maturely.  When it became clear that Midnight was not going to make it, she told me that she would much rather Midnight be in fish heaven where she would not be suffering any longer than to keep her here.  We all said our good-byes,  took some last minute pictures, and cried a bit.  The Little Man was very tender towards his sister saying, "I know just what it feels like to lose your favorite fish."  He's sweeter than sugar.

Rest in peace, Midnight.  Thanks for hanging out as long as you did.

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