So, this afternoon Jimmy and I had just settled in for a nice Sunday afternoon rest when we hear Jack calling daddy for some help. Caroline, being the need-meeter that she is, also heard this cry for help and came from her resting room to offer assistance. It was at that moment when we heard the scream. And then some crying. And then Caroline begging daddy to come quickly. Jimmy and I exchanged one of those looks that says, "What now?" and he was off (though not nearly as fast as I thought he should be going). Out of curiosity I decided to follow along and I will admit that I was not prepared for what I would find upon reaching the room that Caroline has so graciously shared with Jack for the past two years....
While he was supposed to be napping, Jack had pulled Pearl's fish bowl onto the ground. The water was splattered far and wide. We'll be finding scattered rocks for decades. But what wasn't immediately found was Pearl her(him)self. Since we really didn't know how long Pearl had been out of the water at this point, Jimmy was pretty frantic in his search to find her and get her back in some water but she was nowhere to be found. It was at that point that Jack quietly suggested that Pearl might be in his crib. Again, Jimmy and I exchange one of those looks, this time the one that says, "Oh, Booba...", he jumped to his feet, leaned over the crib and sure enough, there was Pearl, lying on her side amidst blankets and toys and a bible. Jimmy scooped her up, grabbed her bowl and ran her to the bathroom, where he was able to get her in the water in record time. Caroline and I followed behind and the three of us sat and stared at her, prayed for her and waited for her to move. And then cheered when she began darting all around her bowl!
So with Pearl now found and alive, the rocks picked up as best as we could and the water sopped up, we turned our attention towards finding out why Jack thought it was a good idea to try and hold Pearl's bowl, which is what we had assumed he had been doing. Again, totally not prepared for his answer to Jimmy's question of, "Why was Pearl in your bed?", because when he answered, "I wanted to duggle her." I had to immediately vacate the room. My stern, serious, mommy face was nowhere to be found and I wasn't going to be very helpful at conveying the seriousness of the matter when I couldn't stop laughing at the idea of him "duggling" Pearl. Thankfully Jimmy was able to maintain his composure just long enough to get him back in bed with proper correction and admonishment. Oh, and the foresight to not leave poor Pearl alone with Jack again.
Sadly, about two hours later as we were walking out the door for evening church, Caroline came to me with tears in her eyes saying that Pearl was dead. I tried talking her down by suggesting that maybe she was just sleeping and she replied, "With her head in the rocks?" As I was tapping and knocking and swirling her around in the bowl, Caroline said through her tears that Pearl always woke up when she talked to her and, well, she definitely wasn't waking up. It was a sad night in the Kyker house as we mourned our first pet death. When she asked what we would do with Pearl we explained to her that we could either bury her or that some people flush their fish when they die. You can imagine that the idea of flushing her beloved Pearl down the toilet was quite appalling to our sweet girl.
Her biggest brother laid Pearl in her final resting place and Sam and I had the honor of choosing the next member of the family.
Welcome to the family, Ruby! (and stay away from Jack...)
While he was supposed to be napping, Jack had pulled Pearl's fish bowl onto the ground. The water was splattered far and wide. We'll be finding scattered rocks for decades. But what wasn't immediately found was Pearl her(him)self. Since we really didn't know how long Pearl had been out of the water at this point, Jimmy was pretty frantic in his search to find her and get her back in some water but she was nowhere to be found. It was at that point that Jack quietly suggested that Pearl might be in his crib. Again, Jimmy and I exchange one of those looks, this time the one that says, "Oh, Booba...", he jumped to his feet, leaned over the crib and sure enough, there was Pearl, lying on her side amidst blankets and toys and a bible. Jimmy scooped her up, grabbed her bowl and ran her to the bathroom, where he was able to get her in the water in record time. Caroline and I followed behind and the three of us sat and stared at her, prayed for her and waited for her to move. And then cheered when she began darting all around her bowl!
So with Pearl now found and alive, the rocks picked up as best as we could and the water sopped up, we turned our attention towards finding out why Jack thought it was a good idea to try and hold Pearl's bowl, which is what we had assumed he had been doing. Again, totally not prepared for his answer to Jimmy's question of, "Why was Pearl in your bed?", because when he answered, "I wanted to duggle her." I had to immediately vacate the room. My stern, serious, mommy face was nowhere to be found and I wasn't going to be very helpful at conveying the seriousness of the matter when I couldn't stop laughing at the idea of him "duggling" Pearl. Thankfully Jimmy was able to maintain his composure just long enough to get him back in bed with proper correction and admonishment. Oh, and the foresight to not leave poor Pearl alone with Jack again.
Sadly, about two hours later as we were walking out the door for evening church, Caroline came to me with tears in her eyes saying that Pearl was dead. I tried talking her down by suggesting that maybe she was just sleeping and she replied, "With her head in the rocks?" As I was tapping and knocking and swirling her around in the bowl, Caroline said through her tears that Pearl always woke up when she talked to her and, well, she definitely wasn't waking up. It was a sad night in the Kyker house as we mourned our first pet death. When she asked what we would do with Pearl we explained to her that we could either bury her or that some people flush their fish when they die. You can imagine that the idea of flushing her beloved Pearl down the toilet was quite appalling to our sweet girl.
Her biggest brother laid Pearl in her final resting place and Sam and I had the honor of choosing the next member of the family.
Welcome to the family, Ruby! (and stay away from Jack...)