First Pet

We were at the mall on Sunday and sure didn't plan on coming home with a pet for Jaret, but that is exactly what happened. I had taken the kids to the pet store. Terry had gone off to run a couple of errands. Usually Jaret makde a beeline for the puppies and Kirra follows reluctantly behind. She is quite scared of dogs but she is fine once she gets to the back of the store and sees that they are little puppies playing or sleeping behind glass. However, Sunday was different. Jaret stopped at the fish and just stood there for a few minutes. Then he pointed up at one and said, "I want a fish. Mom, I want a fish for a pet." I was quite surprised but then a smile spread across my face. How could I refuse? He was so excited. I was also a little apprehensive wondering if it is first a fish, then a bird, and eventually a dog. We continued on to the back of the store to see the puppies and I was certain that Jaret would forget all about the fish. But, he hardly paid any attention to the puppies and wanted to go back to the fish. So back to the fish we went. And Jaret was pointing to the same fish he first pointed to when we first entered the store. It was at that time that Terry walked in and wondered why we weren't at the back looking at the puppies. After filling him in, we decided to buy Jaret a fish. Actually, Jaret decided he wanted to use his saved up allowance for a fish. So, we walked out of the pet store that day with a bag of supplies and Jaret proudly carrying his fish. He was walking so cautiously, not wanting to make any bumps out of concern that his fish would be scared. On the way home, we were discussing names for Jaret's new pet. In the running were: Finley, Parker (McKinley's middle name), Fishy-Wishy, and Blue. In the end, the name that was picked was Fishy-Wishy Blue Lockhart. Jaret is so caring and takes such good care of his new pet. He talks to him, saying "Good Morning" each morning and "Good Night" as he lies in bed. It is quite cute listening to him just talk to Fishy-Wishy and tell him about his day. He is diligent in remembering to feed him but his fish isn't eating as regularly as we expected. After calling PetLand, we were reassured that this is quite normal and that there will be an adjusting time for the fish as he has experienced a lot of stress with the move. Oh, how we can relate to that! Jaret is so proud of his new pet and he is a welcome addition to our family.