To which Haley said "Daddy told me when he left that we weren't to get any more animals while he was gone." Spoilsport.
So then we had to have an agonizing conversation about animals being mammals and comparing them to amphibians, which frogs are, and thank goodness we were almost home because I almost drove the car into a tree voluntarily.
And then...tragedy.
While Ashlyn was walking inside the lid came off the aquarium and it fell to the ground. She quickly put it all back together and came inside, got Freddy the Frog a bowl of water and put him in it and added some grass and a stick. But Freddy wasn't moving.
And she asked me "Mama, how do you know if the frog is dead?" and I looked closely and it seemed that Freddy wasn't breathing and oh my God did Ashlyn completely break down. She cried and cried, not the loud, wailing cry that all the other ones do in WalMart when I won't let them chew through a box of Lucky Charms while they are sitting in the buggy, but a silent, sad cry that seemed very mature but was heartwrenching for me to watch.
And then Haley said she really didn't think Daddy would mind if I went to the pet store and bought Ashlyn another frog since she was so upset. Yes, buying a frog would be a great thing for me to do. Even better? BUYING A HAMSTER.
Honestly, if I had known Scott wouldn't absolutely lose it with me I would have gone out right there and bought another frog. To replace the free frog. And Jenny said "No, don't buy a frog." and my dad said "No, don't buy a frog." and so help me I wanted to buy her a frog so badly it was killing me. Then I entertained the thought of buying a hamster. They are only supposed to live a year or so, right? But my luck the hamster would live like 6 years or something, or the dog would eat it and then the dog would die and it just all became too much for me to think about. All the possibilities of all the awful things that could and probably would happen if I brought another animal into this house.
So I went outside to find Ashlyn, who had slipped through the door while Jenny was all "DO NOT go buy a frog!" and there she was, poor thing, with the shovel digging a friggin hole to bury the frog in. I helped her dig it a little deeper and we carefully wrapped Freddy in a paper towel and covered him up with the dirt and the tears all started again, and it seemed really stupid to me to be burying a frog we'd had for less than one day and it seemed even sillier for Ashlyn to be standing there crying about it and my gosh it was so blazing hot and I was sweating but I took my time and didn't rush her and made it into the most important thing I did that day.
Ashlyn is having a hard time with Scott being gone this time. She's asking more mature questions and seeing the bigger picture. She cries when he calls and she cries when she talks to him on Skype. Then she breaks her arm, ending her chances at swimming again this summer. She was so excited about this frog, and then it died. What in the world do I need to do? She needs something, but her arm is broken so she can't do sports. And I don't know how I would fit that in, with t-ball on Mondays, cheerleading on Tuesdays, church on Wednesdays, and me busy doing magic on Thursdays when cheerleading is over at 5:30 on one side of town and Owen has t-ball at 5:30 on the other side of town, and all the whining and crying on Fridays because everybody is tired. I need ideas. She needs something that is just hers, that Haley doesn't have or doesn't do. Either that or I need Lucy to get me a turtle.
(psst Lucy, you need to fix your blog so I can link to specific posts, not just the main page)
1 comment:
All I have to say is that my cousin had a hamster that lived 12 years. She was gone to freakin college and my aunt still had that damn thing.
What about a beta fish?
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