Kaylin's Fish

Kaylin turned five recently and Daddy felt it was time for her to have a small fish tank. She has been wanting some fish for a very, very long time. The other night we had a delayed birthday celebration with Grandma and Granddad. They were in on our little bday surprise and bought Kaylin a small fish tank. She knew instantly what it was for when she opened it. Her excitement level grew all night. But it was a different kind of excitement. She was not bouncing off the walls as you might expect. It was more of the "I'm so excited I can't stop talking about this" kind of excitement. When we got back home she was in full "talk" mode. We had told her we would get the fish the next day and this is what followed (there's really no way I can accurately describe it though): Kaylin in pretty much her own words: "We're going to go get some fish tomorrow, right? I'll remind Daddy in the morning. Yes, I'll remind Daddy in the morning. Make sure you remind Daddy in the morning. Are we going to church first? When we're done with church then we can get the fish. I'll remind Daddy. Will it be afternoon when church is over. Is that because church takes so long. And then we'll get the fish, right? Tomorrow. In the afternoon? Make sure you remind Daddy in the morning." This went on for about 30 minutes. It was way past her bedtime. We didn't think she would fall asleep she was so excited. I'd say: "You've got to go to bed." She'd respond. "Yeah - and then I'll wake up and we can go get our fish. Make sure you remind Daddy." It was really the funniest thing to watch (or in this case listen to).

To finish out the story - we did get her some fish as promised. She has been thrilled with them ever since. Unfortunately, they haven't been doing very well. They wouldn't eat at all. We lost the first yesterday morning. She semi-cried and was sad for about 5 minutes before declaring "It's OK. We can get a new one." The others have pretty much followed suit. Now - I guess it's time for plan B.

Oh - this is funny too. You know how kids beg their parents for a cat or a dog (or some other pet)? Parents have a tendency to say things like "A pet's a lot of work. Who's going to take care of it?" Then the kid appropriately responds. "I'll do all the work, I promise." Well the other night it struck me funny that Kaylin did that very same thing (and she's only five). We were talking about getting her fish the next day and she declared "I can take care of them all by myself." (She even put her hand on her chest for extra affect.) And then right after she made that declaration she said: "Yeah - Daddy and I can take care of them." Hmmm? Methinks she doesn't fully comprehend the meaning of the phrase "all by myself".

Bonus Kaylinism: Sometimes when Kaylin asks us for somthing we say "I'll think about it." The other day she responded by saying "Okay, you think about it in your brain."