Lana's 1st Pet

Lana got her first pet last week. A pretty Betta fish. Now I know you are wondering if Lana is old enough to understand how to properly care for a fish. The answer is no.

I wrote the story of Lana and her fish as my editorial in one of my Macaroni Kid newsletters. Here it is...

Yesterday I took my almost 3 year old daughter with me to the grocery store. We weren't in any kind of hurry and so we took a turn through the fish department. She was very impressed by the Bettas and insisted on seeing each one up close. One by one I handed her each container than held a single fish in water. She inspected each one and I saw her eyes light up as I handed her a whitish one with pink fins. Pink happens to be my daughter's "signature color." She prefers everything to be pink...everything. Back to the fish. In her sweetest voice she asked, "Mommy, can I have one of these? I'll take care of it. I'll give it food...just a pinch." I just couldn't say no. I asked her what she was going to name her fish and she promptly answered, "Sleeping Beauty," which happens to be her favorite princess, the name of her favorite stuffed doll, and how she refers to herself. I suggested she pick a different name and she came up with "Pinky." I probably should have been able to guess that one.

My daughter is over the moon in love with her new pet. And Pinky...well let's just say no fish has ever received so many "bowl smashed to cheek" hugs, or been told so many times a day how much "she" is loved. She likes to keep the fish near her all the time and carries it in its container from room to room. Oh and yes, my daughter believes Pinky is a girl. When we put a mirror in front of "her" she isn't showing aggression like other Bettas...oh no, not Pinky. Instead she is admiring her pretty pink dress (fins) in the mirror, just as any princess would do. Oh, Pinky, something tells me you may not live a long long life, but I hope you know just how much you are loved by my sweet girl. Now if anyone can help us come up with a solution for where to house Pinky, we'd appreciate it. It needs to be a bigger than the Tupperware size container we bought "her" in, have a lid that we can close tightly when our daughter carries it around, and possibly have a super power to keep fish alive for long times despite possible trauma from travel. Anyone got any ideas? ;)

She carried the fish like this for two days.

It got lots of these kinds of hugs...

God love her. I did finally convince her to put the fish in a bigger bowl and it lives on a shelf. She loves feeding it and is one proud pet-owner!

"Hold me tight. Let me go on loving you." The Beatles