Saturday, May 30, 2009

More Fun With Fish

I got the fish, the tank, the aquatic plant and the rocks. But I forgot the food.

So, back I went to Petco the next day with Isabella and Natalie to buy fish food. Should be simple enough, right?

When we got to the store, Isabella did not want to ride in the cart because she remembered that she could see the fish better while smearing her greasy little nose directly on the glass. So, I put Natalie in the cart and I let Bella run ahead a little, thinking that there was no harm done by a little toddler aquarium gazing.

Silly me.

I forgot the Betta fish were on display in little tupperware-like containers, stacked in a pyramid on a table. I forgot that Isabella has a razor-sharp memory and likes to repeat things we have previously done. I forgot that she watched Julia select a fish from this stack the day before.

Before I could stop her, she grabbed for a fish at the bottom of the pyramid to helpfully place in our cart. Down went a number of the fish, thudding hideously in a staccato pattern on the concrete floor. One (and thankfully only one) of the containers split and flooded the area, leaving its inhabitant flopping desperately in the broken container. There were no employees in sight.

Panicked, I grabbed the fish and began to place it in the container with another fish who had survived the fall. But then I remembered that these were all male Bettas and that this would NOT be a good plan. So, I did the next best thing. I started hollering, "Help!" in the middle of Petco. No one came.

Plan B was to stupidly dash around the store looking for an employee, shouting something nonsensical, like, "This fish is going to die! Help!" Finally, alarmed by my apparent instability, the checker left the checkstand mid-transaction to save the poor fish by getting a new container and filling it with water in the nick of time.

I quickly paid for the food and left.

(The next time I need something I am going to PetSmart down the street.)

6 comments:

Bianca said...

you see stuff like that happens to me ALL of the time, and I don't have 7 children. Imagine what mess I would be involved in if I did? Thank you for sharing....it makes me feel a little more normal!

xemefex said...

Hi,

It came to my attention that your blog is popular! Are you aware of this? Let me explain... as I was googleing around Your blog came up top 10 under the keyword fish. This is pretty good and you could be making a lot of money through your blog.

Check this out:

www.bloggingtothebank.com

Michelle said...

ROFL.

I will avoid Petco with children in tow.

Anonymous said...

Too funny!! Your crazy life always puts a smile on my face. Lots of love, RB

Jennifer Slezak said...

very funny! keep her away from the food pyramids at the grocery store, too. Do you know the Shel Silverstein poem "Pancakes" where the little girl wants the pancake in the middle? ;)

Joann Savard said...

Suzanne,
You are a gifted writer!! With a good spirit and wonderful sense of humor and needless to say, the patience of Job.

Keep up yor writing. It keeps us all smiling.