A Fish Called Blue

On Saturday we walked down the street to our neighbors garage sale. Mama had a couple dollar bills burning a hole in her pocket, and the sale was mostly kid stuff ("Sophie's Stuff" to be exact - one of the little girls on our street that The Dude has a big crush on) so we knew we would walk away with something good.

After perusing the Hello Kitty selection and the My Little Ponies, Owen headed up the steps into the "grown up" section where we found plates, various kitchen knick-knacks and picture frames. He headed right for a crusty, old fish bowl (years empty, we're sure) with neon turquoise rocks. Of course, The Dude new exactly what it was for...

"FISH!" he exclaimed loudly (which he does often these days...). He tried to pick it up, but Mama stopped him and got down on his level.

(M)"Do you want to take this home Owen?"
(O)"Yes."
(M)"We'll have to go to the fish store and get you a fish to put in it..."
(O)"OK!!"

And down the stairs to the sidewalk he went, running towards our house.
It had been decided.

As Mama was searching her pockets for the two bucks that they were asking for the thing, a woman approached us and told us that she had a free fish for us. She just lived on the next block, and we could come over that moment and get it. Really? A free fish? To put in our new fish bowl? It must have been fate....

About fifteen minutes later, we carefully walked down the block - being careful not to spill the fresh water and our new, beautiful fish onto the sidewalk - back to our house to introduce our newest pet to our home.

His name is Blue. He's a beta fish. And he fits in quite nicely.
And Owen LOVES him.



*Parent's note: We don't normally let Owen climb onto the table. This was a one time thing so that we were able to capture the moment of his excitement. The fish now lives in his room, safely out of reach - but definitely within view for short people...