They Surprise You

Remember this post?  Just last month? 

Well, this morning, while we were all hanging around together in the living room before Bill had to leave for work, Alex looked over at Reddy's tank...and said "Oh no!  Look at Reddy!"

And, with sinking hearts, we did.

In the vernacular of the tank mates in "Finding Nemo," Reddy went belly up.

Again.

And this time we couldn't hide it from Alex.

He cried, of course.  Poor little guy.  I held him on my lap and he cried, and Bill patted him on the back, and Julia did her best to be soothing and sympathetic.  ("Alex.  I'm really sorry that Reddy DIED.")

I told Alex we'd bury Reddy outside next to Dinoraptosaurus's plot after school today, and he asked if he could write some words for Reddy like we did before.  I said of course.

But what surprised me, besides how nice Julia was, and for how long, was Alex's recovery time.  He was sad, but he stopped crying relatively quickly, and is already talking about his next fish.  Maybe a blue one.

And - this just in - he is also able to joke about it.  He just walked by the tank on his way upstairs to brush his teeth, and he reached for the fish food, saying "Oh, I forgot to feed - Oh, guess I don't have to."  And he laughed a little.

So here we are.  Just an hour after the body was discovered.  And everything's fine.

And I am marveling a bit at my little boy's maturity.

Comments

[just1beth]

Growing up is hard, and beautiful, all at once. I know - it is so weird. At times like these, you are so proud to see your boy handle something like a big kid, and yet, a little piece of the baby in them dies at the same time. It is so strange, and yet, awesome to witness all these things at once. Alex is proving to be a fine boy- and in the future- a fine man.