RIP - Greg the Fish

Today, Lily discovered that Greg, her recently acquired Siamese Fighting Fish, was no longer with us. She informed me rather matter-of-factly this morning,

 'Mummy, today I checked on my fish and he is dead. He is not swimming or eating, he's just lying there like this - (demonstration) - dead.'
'Ohh, that is sad! Do you want a cuddle?'. 
She looked at me bemused - 'Mummy, I'm ok, there's nothing wrong with me, it's the fish that's dead!'

Oh, well OK, then!!

This was her first experience of death, so I wasn't too sure how she would take it. Although she was thrilled with her fish as a birthday present and loved to feed him and introduce him to friends, I didn't know how completely in love she was. Exemplified by the fact that a couple of weeks ago she had come up to me and casually said 'Mummy, when Greg dies, can I have a guinea pig for a pet?'

!!!

Now, I realise if this was Law and Order: Fisheries Investigation Unit she would be getting hauled in for questioning right now, but I'm pretty sure his circumstances of death were not suspicious. Possibly our cold temperatures got too much for the tropical little fellow?? I guess we will never know. :(

Anyway, we discussed what we should do now and I suggested burying him in the garden and saying goodbye. The garden? But he can't walk around out there! She has no experience of death, burying, funerals, etc, so I explained the idea of burying him in the garden, that we could say goodbye to him and put some flowers there and she liked that idea so out we trooped to conduct the ceremony.

It was funny to see her process it. Being four, she flicked between being fairly non-plussed by the loss of her first pet, to distracted by the flowers and what was for dinner, to being quite sad and teary (I thought my fish was going to live forever! When is he coming out of the ground? I don't want him to be dead! I think I was cleaning my room too much and didn't feed him enough!?).


Together we dug the hole, laid Greg the Fish to rest, and covered him up. Lily then put some flowers on top.

Helping pat down the dirt,

Laying some flowers on the fishie grave. 

Fishie Gravesite

And that... was pretty much that. We had said a brief goodbye to Lily's first pet as she didn't want the full speeches and so on that Mark and I were prepared to orchestrate!. So then the kids jumped on the trampoline for a while. A fitting celebration of life I suppose??

We did capture this moment of grief from Eli which Mark insisted I document! He is wailing in sorrow - though I'm not sure how much he actually comprehended the loss of Greg. May have had something to do with his cold and ear infection... or perhaps the fact I wouldn't let him put his hand in the fish bowl to touch the murky stones!

'Piiiish! Piiiiish! Pish Gooone!!' 

So, life continues on....


Bye Greg, and thanks for being our very first family pet!