Sushi…rest in peace

I am finally feeling 100% back to normal! Thanks for your prayers! But I do wish I could say the same about our dear, beloved pet beta fish, Sushi.

It is with deep regret that I inform you that our very first pet has passed away. Our fish, Sushi, left this world a few days ago, after a 2 week battle with a sickness that left him struggling to breathe and unable to eat, swim, or do any other kind of fishy activity.

Sushi was a great pet, and has been with us for over 2 years, (a whole lot longer than I was expecting). He was a 4^th birthday gift to the boy from his uncle andy and aunt lisa, and he really did bring much joy to our lives. In his prime, he would swim in circles as soon as he saw one of us enter the room, and was truly a playful fish. Our kids loved him. You might remember him from here:

So a few weeks ago, I realized that something was amiss when i noticed his lack of eating, his dull color, and his frayed fins. I consulted with jake as to how to handle the situation, and we decided that it was best to begin to talk to the crazies about the possibiltiy of Sushi not being with us much longer. After some tears from the boy, and some gentle (or not so gentle) coaxing from the Bug to “eat, sush, eat!” as the next picture shows:

and a few days of begging from Canaan that I call the “pet doctor,” I finally did what any mom would do and I called the darn Pet Doctor…not exactly sure how to explain that I was calling about a 2+ year old beta fish, who i’m pretty sure is dying, but not exaclty sure how to explain that i’m pretty sure…get it? So I told the poor man that he was going to think I was crazy for calling about a fish, but that I have a very sad little boy, and a mom just can’t sit there and not do anything.

The man that answered the phone (the pet nurse, i’m assuming?) told me he would go talk to the doctor. After a few minutes, during which time i’m sure they got some good laughs at my expense over the fact that a crazy lady was calling about a beta fish, the sweet pet doctor himself got on the phone, listened to my sob story about having a very sad 6 year old son, and so graciously was kind, understanding, and thoughtful. As it turns out, he doesn’t deal with fish (imagine that!) but he was so sweet and spent a bit of time on the phone with me while he did some research, talked me through some options, and gave me some more numbers to call. He even thanked me for calling him and assuming that he might know about fish. I guess if you love animals, it doesn’t matter if its a purebred dog or dying $2 fish…an animal is an animal! So if you live in my neighborhood and need a pet doctor, I highly recommend the sweet man at the pet clinic next to the old Fresh Market. Tell him the crazy fish lady sent you!!

so after a few more phone calls, I made a trip to the pet store to purchase some special drops. We used the drops, which didn’t change a thing, quickly realized that you can’t spoon feed a fish (don’t judge…we really did attempt!), prayed for healing, thought about fish euthanization (he was looking pretty pitiful, and it was breaking my heart!), but finally gave in to the realization that Sushi’s time was drawing near.

After a long, sad battle, he finally gave in, floated to the top of the bowl, and breathed his last. Unfortunately, it was smack dab in the middle of my crazy virus, so poor Sushi did not get his proper burial for a few days, and remained in his bowl for a few days until we could devote some time to giving him a proper goodbye.

Canaan asked if Sushi would go to Heaven or Hell, to which I replied that I really didn’t know exactly, but I do know that God created animials and that i’m pretty sure there are animals in Heaven, so if its not Sushi, then i’m thinking there will be a fish like him there….to which Canaan replied that only bad animals, like lions, go to hell, so Sushi will probably be in Heaven. At this point, we launched into quite a theological discussion concerning “good” and “bad” people and I reminded him that just because someone is labeled bad or good does not determine if they go to Heaven or Hell, because its based soley on receiving Jesus’ free gift of grace. We went back and forth, with Canaan asking some amazing, deep questions, and really thinking and absorbing. Then there was a long pause, and i start getting excited about what else he might ask, and then Canaan looks at me with his big brown eyes, and says, “momma….wanna see how I can make a melody on the couch cushions?” and with that, our theological, gospel discussion was quickly over, and i enjoyed a sweet couch cushion tune while trying really hard not to laugh!!

we decided the best way to honor sushi was to give him a royal flushing, since, according to Finding Nemo, “All pipes lead to the ocean!” (I know they don’t really, but we can pretend, can’t we?)

here’s bella’s face when I was explaining that Sushi was no longer alive: (sorry for the poor photos…should’ve had my flash on!)

and then when we explained what we were going to do with Sushi:

we spent some time comforting The Bug, and finally made it through the little ceremony, and everyday since, Bella has joked about flushing me and her daddy down the potty. Hope we didn’t open a can of worms!! she’s also asked if sushi is feeling better…so i’m pretty sure she’s clueless!

Now they’re begging for a new pet, but this time a puppy. i’m thinking they are certainly barking up the wrong tree on that one!!

so we are missing our friend and pet, but life is finally returning to our normal chaos around here!

really hoping i find some time to try a few recipes this week that i’ve had on hold for the summertime (maybe a simple, homemade strawberry jam recipe??) but don’t worry…i won’t be making any fish!!