Fish in the Next Life...

There are few people, if any, that I can think of that I do not look forward to meeting in the next life. As of recently there is one name on the list, Barry the Fish. When Oakley and Eli were really sick with strep throat this winter, I bought a couple of fish for them while I was at the store picking up their prescription. Eli named his Edward, after the Prince in Enchanted, and Oakley named his Barry, after one of the characters in The Bee Movie. Our family has not had much success with fish longevity. I’ve bought all the recommended water treatments and anything else the salesman recommends, all to no avail. With this new couple of fish, Edward died within in a week and Barry seemed to be going strong.

A few months later I noticed Barry face down in the brightly colored gravel of the aquarium. Swimming happily the night before, then eating rock the next morning. I usually immediately send the fish down the toilet to their watery grave, but had other “fires” that needed dealing with that morning. Then the days wore on. Neither of the boys seemed to notice Barry in his lifeless state and I couldn’t seem to find the two minutes it would take to flush him. Finally, feeling completely guilt ridden, I finally located the fish net and watched Barry take a swirley ride down to his final resting place.

I do not look forward to seeing Barry in the next life if animals can talk. I hope that he was a resident of our home long enough to sense the never-ending insanity of life with three small boys and why it seemed so difficult to finally acknowledge the end of his life with the ceremonial flush. I do much prefer my situation, though, to that of my Mom’s. She accidentally bumped the container that held our beta fish into the kitchen sink. The fish fell down the drain into the garbage disposal. According to her account, there was “no way I was sticking my hand down that disposal to try and get that fish out.” In her thinking, the only option was to turn on the disposal.

Yes, I would much rather be the one who let the already-dead Barry lay face down in gravel for a few extra days than the one who turned on the disposal to end the life of a much-alive beta fish. But we’ll have to see what these two fish have to say about it….