Gabe has been seriously lobbying for a new puppy for over a year. He's laid out all his best arguments for us to no avail. Finally Pat told him he could get a pet as long as it didn't poop. (As a result, every animal he sees, Gabe asks us if they poop...) We've held firm. But then Gabe came home with his very own "science experiment".
Our awesome neighbor, Ashlee, took the boys to the Aquarium last month. Gabe had a total blast! Not only did he get to spend the day with a smokin' hot, older woman (she's in her twenties for heaven's sake!), but she let him pick out a toy from the gift shop. That toy: Triop Eggs. You just add these microscopic eggs to water and magically, within days sea creatures appear! "Yeah right" I thought. So we tried it thinking it would produce nothing but murky water--but it worked. Within minutes of adding the stinky eggs to water, these teeny, tiny,specks started to swim around. And within days they had quadrupled in size. Gabe was thrilled! He fed them and watched them and fretted. OK, so they're not quite as cute as a puppy but they didn't pee on my carpet or chew up my shoes!
So tonight I was going to blog all about Gabe's great new pets- no poop, no yapping, just these quarter inch aliens swimming around on my kitchen counter. But we got home and all was quiet in the triop jar. Instead of their normal zipping around, triop one and triop two were floating upside-down near the bottom of the tank. And Gabe (truly his mother's son) burst into tears. He was sad as only a little boy can be when he's lost his first pet (slightly creepy though they may have been...). It was sweet. He pulled himself together but for the rest of the night was kind of quiet and every once in awhile his eyes would moisten.
After dinner I asked Gabe if he wanted to flush them or bury them. He chose a modest funeral. Gabe, the twins, and I marched out to the front flower bed. I dug a hole and ceremoniously dumped them in. Gabe cried and the twins? Well, they cheered. They cheered like I had just set off fire works. And then I shoveled the dirt back into the hole and they cheered some more. Gabe sniffled and with all the dignity he could muster, stiffly walked back inside. The twins clapped, squealed, and then fought over the shovel. 2 year olds are so sensitive.
