A Tale of 3 Kings, 3 Boys, 3 Fish & 3 Regrets...

In Mexico, the 6th of January is a special day - it is called Dia de Reyes (Three Kings Day) and it honors the three kings who brought gifts to baby Jesus. The kids look forward to the gifts they will receive from the three kings.

We decided, this year, to give our boys something small from the 3 Kings...BUT although it seemed ideal at the time, I wish the three kings had convinced me of a better idea :) You see, I simply went to the pet store and chose a small betta fish for each of the older three (no basic goldfish available!) I felt that with all of the "taking care of" that I was doing these days...it would be sweet for them to have a little fish to take care of on their own (not that I am equating Hudson to a betta fish or anything!)

Well, as it has turned out, the boys were pretty excited about their little fish and proceeded to ask to feed them, oh, let's say...every 5 minutes (wait....maybe they are just like Hudson - ha,ha) Obviously, I didn't give them free reign on that, but sadly, none of the fish wanted to eat...EVER. So, sadly, we pretty quickly had three disheartened little boys. And...

 

 

Meet: Cosmo, Golden, and Spike

 

...before too long we had our first floating upside down fish (Cosmo) Of course, as fate would have it, it just so happened to be Chase's fish - the kid who would naturally care the most and take it the hardest. He cried his eyes out...he was so heartbroken (yes, they apparently formed an incredibly deep attachment within about 8 days!) Poor kid. He came to grips with it and was comforted by the idea of being able to pick out a new one in the following days.

And the drama continues when Pierce learned that Chase was gonna go to the pet store and select his very own new fish. Whereas Chase developed a very rapid loyalty to his first pet, Piersen had the extreme opposite reaction...eager to flush his alive and healthy fish down the toilet so that he, too, could make that journey to the pet store. He actually cried louder and much, much longer about the reality that that wasn't an option for him.

So, Chase has his new fish - a zippy little thing - named Spikey, I think - and Chase felt like the most special guy on the face of the planet as he marched out of the store with his new fish in hand (the look on his face made this all worth it!).

In other developments...looks like Reece's fish is maybe doing his last laps around the fish bowl - very slowly and in a very vertical like, awkward position. I am expecting a death announcement promptly... Which creates another issue for Pierce - whose fish is eating and looking the best of all three - still, and to his dismay. And I guess can only mean another trip to the pet store for a replacement fish for Reece....aghhhhh.

So my 3 regrets?
1) buying three fish :)
2) starting this whole replacement thing - I think each boy gets one replacement and then the madness stops! wouldn't you agree?
3) having three separate fish bowls to clean out (b/c betta fish can't be together!)

You live and you learn...I seriously think I - scratch that - the 3 Kings- should've gone with the other idea and got them 1 snake!