Casualty of the move

Considering that we were a bunch of amateurs moving the stuff to the new house, we didn't really sustain much breakage other than a couple of glasses, the electric ice cream maker, and a vase from our wedding.

The most important loss has got to be Fred, our pet Betta fish. Fred had quite the personality and would get excited and swim to see the Hubby when it was feeding time. He almost looked like he was waving his fin at you. Fred got depressed after the move and spent more and more time hiding in his little house. We finally took the little house out of the tank to keep an eye on him. But then he wouldn't come up of the bottom of the tank. Hubby read somewhere that Bettas will do that when they are upset and depressed.

On Saturday, we went to the store to buy some medicine for Fred's tank that is supposed to be a "stress reliever". While we were at the store, AJ was busily picking out replacement fish. His Daddy explained to him several times, "Fred's not dead yet. Give him a chance."

On Saturday evening, AJ asked me whether "it's time for Fred to go live in the toilet." HUH? We had no idea where he got such a notion...

During the rest of the weekend, Fred seemed to be getting worse. You could actually see him gasping to breathe.

I was at home sick on Monday. Early in the morning, Fred didn't look good at all. By lunch, I noticed that he was lying on his side and had quit breathing.

We broke the news to AJ after school. He got really excited and wanted to see the dead fish. He asked again about flushing Fred and wanted to watch.

Hubby took Fred out of the tank, let AJ pet him, and took Fred to the bathroom for a private "memorial service." He wouldn't let AJ go with him, because AJ wasn't grasping the somberness of the occasion.

AJ just told him..."It'll be okay, Daddy. It's just a fish."

He has apparently moved on...

RIP Fred.