Water Part II

Sarah says:  This water is just the way I like it, straight from the tap with two ice cubes.  It’s refreshing and tasty.  Yum.

Overall rating:  Thumbs up

I’m drinking water tonight in honor of Liam’s fish.  The poor guy passed away last night.  This fish was Liam’s 4^th birthday present, he had a good life, lasting just over 1 year.  He was a guppy fish (ie. the smallest fish ever), and had several names throughout his time with us.  His first name was Robin, then Nemo, Roger, Fish, Flash and his last name was Dorothy.  I have no idea where that last one came from, but that is the name we used to send him to fish heaven.



RIP Fish - Liam will miss you

I feel slightly responsible for his death.  1) I was just commenting about how surprised I was that he was still alive.  2) I was just commenting about how much of a pain it was going to be to have to move him to a new house.  3) I was just commenting about how much of a pain it was going to be to find someone to feed him while we took our summer vacation.  4) I go away for a weekend and boom, he dies. 

I could tell he wasn’t doing well last night, even Liam commented that he was broken, so he knew something was going on.  When we checked in on him this morning, he was clearly gone.  We had a little funeral in the bathroom, talked about dying and heaven, and flushed him away. Liam handled it all very well, and I went out of my way to make sure he was a part of the funeral process.  I really wanted to make sure he understood what was happening to Dorothy. 

In December, we had to put our sweet dog, Oscar, to sleep.  We thought we made the right choice by having it done while the kids were in pre-school, and explaining it to them later.  Unfortunately, I think instead it created a load of confusion for Liam.  To him, Oscar just disappeared, and he didn’t understand it.  For months he asked me when Oscar was coming home and if he could feed him dinner, and for months, I tried to explain what it means to die and that Oscar isn’t coming back.  I think Liam understands now that he’ll never see him again, but I’m still not sure he understands the death concept.  To this day, he still makes comments that Oscar is still sick.  As hard as it all has been, I still don’t think I would have wanted to have Liam there with us the day Oscar went to heaven. I was balling my eyes out.  I’m not sure it would have been appropriate to have Liam see that.  Plus, I don’t know if I would have been able to explain much to Liam in my condition.  But, it might have been a good idea to try explaining some of it to him before taking the animal in, so he could properly say good-bye.

With Dorothy, I think Liam got that good-bye, and therefore also got a sense of closure.  He knows the tank is empty and that Dorothy is gone.  It’s sad, but it was a good first pet.  Liam learned a lot.  Daily feedings, cleaning the tank, he even entertained the fish occasionally.  And now, he learned about loss.  All essential things for a 5-year-old to get used to.  Liam REALLY wants a cat now, and I’ve told him we can get one after we move.  I think he’s more ready now than ever.

How did you explain the concept of death to your kids?