We are that family. The one who doesn't have pets. For a long time I told people, "I have kids not pets," but the real truth is - pets die at our house. The last turtle we had died in under an hour because I forgot to make sure the kids moved its box into the shade. We went to pick kids up from school and came home to find baked turtle. (Apparently turtles bake in under an hour when it is over 100 outside. and they are trapped in a plastic rubbermaid bucket) No one was happy about that, but we did learn about how reptiles regulate body temperature.
That being said, I'm not sure what possessed me to take the kids to gather tadpoles from giant rain puddle next to their school. We weren't home 10 minutes before two kids killed everything in their jar by dumping them into a bigger bucket full of tap water. I know tap water is bad for tadpoles, but didn't communicate that to my poor boys who were devastated.
We have also accidentally knocked the remaining jar over spilling almost all of our water and killing half of the remaining tadpoles who had all been lovingly named. The only consolation is at least these tadpoles have made it longer than the ones in the big puddle that has since dried up.
I'm guessing we might see one frog, but only if we are really, really lucky.
We'll probably kill it anyway.
9 comments:
Our house rule growing up was that we could only have pets that live in cages. And if you're looking for a pet that is a little more, ummm, resilient? Rats. I know they ick some people out, but they're smart and they can live through a lot.
P.S. Don't feel too bad about the turtle. Growing up we had a rabbit die of heat stroke here before we moved the cage to a shadier spot.
I am always amazed at how much you and I are alike. We will be one of "those" families as well. I'm just not a pet person.
A good rule I go by is, if it has anything with an "f", don't have it as a pet. No fur, feathers, fish, frogs, fangs, flying, feces, or feelers. Try and come up with a pet that doesn't have any of those. I dare you. That's why I have plants.
We're one of "those" families too. And any time I miss having a pet around we just go to a friend's house who does, and I'm quickly reminded that I don't miss them THAT much.
I like that. "I have kids not pets."
:)
-c
Hey, Laura! The kids not pets--did you get that from me? And when the kids are gone and you go to visit them its nice not to have to worry about pets. (Actually I'm surprised that Emily and Daniel feel the same way).
In my opinion, pets are just more work for mom. We probably won't have any either - unless Dad and the kids take care of it. Then it will probably just die.
How fun to go get tadpoles though. Your kids will remember that you did try. :)
Hey, I wouldn't have known that about the tap water! Hilariously wry that you realized you actually lengthened the life of the tadpoles by saving them from the puddle that dried up...
I totally feel the same as Daniel, Emily and my Mom. I am NOT a pet person. And we live out in the country and EVERYONE has pets, but us. OH well. I am raising children, not animals. Sorry if this offends you pet lovers out there, but I'm just not a pet person. We've had fish, and they were great, until they died. They didn't bark, leave hair all over the place and the tank was easy to maintain. I enjoyed your post!
I put our hermit crab in the half bath, the one without windows. Well apparently ALL living things need sunlight. I did not know this. The lack of sun killed it. Oops.
Post a Comment