Fish Tank Disaster
I want to start with a small confession…. I am a little crazy about animals. Those who have read my bio may recall that I hosted a show on Animal Planet called “Backyard Habitat”, but truthfully, that is just the tip of the iceberg. I love pets. Living in New York City helped me keep my obsession under control. I could really only have one pet at a time but even in small city apartments, over the last 15 years I still managed to have a dog, two birds, a cat, a turtle and a rabbit.
Now that I am back in Florida and living in a house, I find that every time I am in a pet store I want to get more animals. Recently my daughter and I were standing in the neighborhood pet store where we had gone to browse, and we saw a Chinchilla. Charlotte, who is five, said, “Oh Mommy, I want a Chinchilla” and I said, “Oh, I do too.” I am well aware that this does not sound like good parenting. Parents are supposed to say things like,” You don’t need a Chinchilla. They don’t make good pets. You are not ready for the responsibility of having a small Chinchilla.” Instead I am thinking, “How mad would my husband be if I brought this Chinchilla home?”, and therein lies the problem. My husband thinks that a cat and turtle are quite enough pets. Add to that my parents’ dog and cat and we really have a houseful… which brings me to the fish tank disaster.
I got Charlotte a fish tank for Christmas with one orange goldfish and one black goldfish (if that’s possible), the kind with bug eyes. My husband and I had kind of a fight over whether she needed another pet, but I really wanted the tank. I told him it would be just a simple fish bowl, very inexpensive. When I got to the pet store I realized that a bowl with no air bubbles or filtration system was tantamount to a death sentence for a fish, so… I got the full whammy! I got a “real” tank, grass, bubbler, filtration system, even a small Roman Ruin for the fish to swim through. I told Michael that there was a special and it had all been extremely cheap. This was a lie. A small white lie, but for the health and well-being of these beautiful fish I felt I had no choice. Anyway, just as I was leaving for work one morning, the tank started to leak, and I mean badly, all over my parents’ new hardwood floors. My husband said that he would run to the pet store and take the tank back. “Where is the receipt?” he asked. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH. Now I had to admit my lie and disclose how much I actually spent. I have to say that my husband was incredibly nice about it and didn’t say anything to me about spending too much money. Let’s just say that he can go and buy the new golf club he has been talking about and I won’t say a word.
He brought home the new aquarium and I got the fish settled… not to brag, but I do arrange beautiful fish tanks. I love planting the grass just so, arranging the ruins, etc., and watching the fish swim around in their new home. Just as I got it all in place, water started pouring out of the bottom. Somehow I had cracked the tank when I was getting it set on the counter. Once again, a mad dash to the pet store ensued, this time for an even larger tank and an ornamental log that I, “just couldn’t resist.” You will be happy to know that “Black Fish” and “Cutie Pie” are both enormously happy in their new digs.
PS. I was editing this entry and my daughter Charlotte wanted to hear what I was working on, so I read her some of the blog. She was concerned at my shoddy reporting of the facts: "NO, no, no!! SANTA brought me the fish tank!!!" Freaking out, I did my best to backtrack...."Mom just got a bigger tank and added things to it," and other lame lies just flew out of my mouth. I fudged the rest of the reading and I am fairly certain that she now thinks I may be the worst writer on the planet. But isn't it worth losing the literary respect of my beautiful, innocent daughter in order to preserve the myth of Santa Claus??
Comments
See, if I'd been writing that entry, the fish would have died. Twice.
:) My boyfriend wants a shark. I want a pacific seahorse. So... I don't think you're crazy! lol! His parents forbid him from buying the shark. And I couldn't even talk my mother into letting me have a turtle (far less for the sea horse).
:)
Hm, as a wedding present to him, he may just get couple baby sharks in a huge beautiful shark tank.
I love animals too!
I thought i was an animal lover and could never turn done a stray. but my Boyfriend is worse and i find myself saying no more. We have 2 dogs, 2 cats, 5 rabbits( had 11 rabbits), guinea pig and 2 fish tanks with gold fish, other beta and snails. NO we don't live on a farm but we need too. He wants goats and a chicken coop. i keep saying no, but if we did live in the country i would say yes to it all and more. Oh yeah and 3 kids to add to the petting zoo. LOL
