Lexi's 1st Pet (& 2nd)

On the last day of school, one of the PreK 3 teachers offered Lexi the fish that she had in her classroom. We'd been thinking about getting a dog, but a fish seemed like a reasonable starting place for a first pet. Especially since it came with a bowl and plenty of food. It was a male betta named Lucy. Don't ask, we didn't name it. Lexi was so excited! That night Lexi talked to him and made me promise to check on him before I went to bed just like I do her. Friday morning when I got up she was talking to him again and showing him random items through the glass. About an hour later something just seemed wrong. I never had a fish and know nothing about them, but luckily Greg's mother used to breed fish and he also worked in a pet store when he was younger. I called him and he said Lucy might just be tired, but we both agreed that the water could be changed. Pretty soon Lucy started swimming around again and the kids and I were off to the pet store to buy water conditioner. Lexi also found a cute little plant for his bowl. We were gone about an hour and when we got home Lucy was dead. Lexi was devastated! She didn't want to tell Mrs. Gallaspy what had happened and insisted that we drive to the ocean and find a fish doctor. Very cute! By the time Greg got home we convinced her that we had to remove him from his bowl. She cried so much over a fish that she only had 15 hours! When she calmed down she promised that if we'd get her another fish that she wouldn't talk to it or even look at it. I told her that was a little extreme. So, on Saturday we headed back to the pet store and brought home another male betta, Widget. He has been happily swimming in his bowl ever since.