Tuesday 9 September 2008

And it Has to Happen on My Shift?

I don't think I have mentioned that this week all week long Rob is off work.

You know what that means?

Yesterday I got to sleep in until 9:30! Yay! (Of course Eli didn't want me feeling too rested and happy so decided to wake up randomly for two hours in the middle of the night but I got to sleep til 9:30 so who cares, right?)

Yesterday consisted of a trip to the Kids Museum, going to the supermarket with an equal ratio of adults and children (a real luxury), getting a £75 parking ticket and watching Federer destroy Murray at the US open (So not worth staying up past midnight for I assure you!).

Today we were woken at 8:30 by Eli. Rob had arranged to go visit his sister Helen down South because she had her 4th baby, Sophie, weeks ago and we haven't had a chance to meet the newest addition before now. So he was up and out the door with Eli in tow by 9am. (Good luck on 6 hours in a car with Eli today Rob!)

I stayed here with Thomas because it is his first 'official' day at nursery today and he has football training later which was rudely cancelled on Saturday because Friday involved so much rain that apparently we had a months rainfall all in one day. This irks me somewhat because a months rainfall is surely sufficient, but, no, it continues to rain and rain and rain. (Get used to comments like this they'll be coming frequently between now and Spring I assure you.)

So, Thomas decided to wake up at 9:15 (that's why he is my favourite, just kidding) and came and clambered on my knee enquiring where Eli and Daddy were. Then the waterworks commenced. Thomas it appears had his heart set on meeting baby Sophie today too. Which came as no big surprise because my boys try to bring home any baby we ever see. I managed to cheer him out of it with excited talk of Nursery and football and settled him finally happily with the Backyardigans and his breakfast.

Then a few minutes later he approached me just sobbing. I figured he just felt sad because his dad was gone, he is a bit sensitive by nature after all. He kept saying something that I couldn't understand through the muffled cries.

Then I got it.

'One is missing'

Now I just needed to ascertain what exactly was missing. No easy task because he has taken to carrying and hoarding ridiculous amounts of anything everywhere he goes.

So I followed him back to the living room.

He approached the fish tank.

I held my breath, hoping he'd keep walking.

He didn't. He stopped, turned, looked at me. Crying all the time.

He said, pointing, "My fish (insert sob), one missing, (sob), look 1, (sob), 2 (sob), 3 (multiple sobs), one gone".

At which point I had to explain that Squidward got very sick and has now gone to live with Heavenly Father.

I chickened out and avoided use of both the D word (dead) and burial at sea (down the toilet) as he was upset enough.

So note to Rob. If you're gonna have a week off work at least have the courtesy to be home when our sensitve and emotional 3 year old comes to a realisation that one of his/your fish has passed away.

Even if it does take him 9 days to come to that particular realisation.

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36 lovely comments:

Simply Shannon said...

Awwww...poor Thomas!
And poor Carol. I'd hate to have to be the one around for that particular moment.
I was talking to my Mom on Sunday and she told me that my Grandmother's cat was hit by a car and killed. Ciara heard me talking and wanted to know what we were talking about...so I told her.
She looked me right in the eye and said "Oh, that's Terrible". You probably had to be there to hear the way that she said it, but my Mom and I couldn't stop laughing. She either doesn't really get the whole death thing yet, or she just handles it in a very mature way.

Unknown said...

I am happy you got to sleep in! Lucky momma!

And Thomas sounds so sweet! I am glad you didn't have to use either one of the D words. :) Hopefully his day got better from there!

3boys247 said...

Poor Thomas. I guess it's time to go find Sandy.

Carol, you should go have a nice break and relax during nursery school today. Are you excited for nursery school?

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

Oh, poor guy. Only 9 days..wow! And, of course on the day daddy is gone. I think that means mommy deserves a night out with the girls or a day to herself!

Anonymous said...

Oh, that's so sad! Poor little guy having to face the missing fishy. Thanks for stopping by the other day. And, I hope the long car ride went smoothly to meet your new niece.

annie valentine said...

And this is why I prefer cows. They're so much sturdier.

Jane Eyre is my favorite book ever, but it took me three tries to get into it. I've read it multiple times and have watched every filmed version of the story ever created. Enjoy!

Lauren W said...

Oh dear :( That's awful. Well, at least he knows.

Randi said...

Look at it this way - you had to explain death, so it'll be Rob's turn when it's time to explain the birds and bees.
I think you got a great deal!

Marla said...

you know this happened because you could handle it better... or at least that is what your mother would tell you :)

Kristen said...

Hmmmmm. sleeping in and explaining dead fish?? I'm not sure the one is worth the other. :)

And 9 days?? Poor kids. Maybe Rob's 6 hour car ride will make up for his lack of being there today. :)

J. Baxter said...

Thanks so much for the visit/validation! Looks like you're playing the opposite game this week at your house! Enjoy your mornings! And next time make him take BOTH the children:)

jOni lAnE said...

Dude. That stinks. That would so be my luck. I probably would have acted all surprised and told him he was hiding. You did a great job by TELLING THE TRUTH. What a concept. *wink*

Mama Smurf said...

UMMMM sounds like your kids need a new baby in the house!

*teehee*

Beth Cotell said...

Poor thing! I hope he was able to pull it all together before school. Sounds like a stressful morning...hopefully it improved as the day passed!

LunaMoonbeam said...

Poor little Thomas! He sounds like such a sweetheart.

I'm sorry you stayed up so late last night, just to see your "favourite" get beaten by Federer. My hubs was in a good mood, though! ;-) (One of the perks of living on the East Coast is watching the US Open in real time!)

Susan said...

Wow, sleeping in...that sounds magnificent!
It seems to always be the case in my household that if my husband is home with the kids, nothing happens and they take very long naps. But, all bets are off when I am here by myself.

Aprille said...

Aww sweet boy! I hope Nate is like that.

Anonymous said...

Aw, poor Thomas. I suppose it was only a matter of time before they noticed, huh?
Sorry it happened on your shift! :)

Laural Out Loud said...

It's awful having to share bad news. What a morning you had!

Tyne said...

No way! He finally noticed... and on your watch. Sad. So so sad.

Claire said...

That's a shame - poor Thomas! And poor you! Chocolate - it's the answer to everything. Let him eat his weight in chocolate. It's the only thing I've found that will dull the pain.. :)

BookMamma said...

Oh no!!! Poor Thomas.
May his beloved fish rest in eternal peace... or the loo.

Maybe that's one of the reasons God created guppies. To help explain the circle of life to little boys. (I realize that goes completely against eyes and sparrows and such.)

I hope he's OK!

Barbaloot said...

Poor kid:(

I'm hoping that when I have kids, I'll be able to raise them ever realizing the existence of pets. Or Halloween.

Aracely said...

Ah hem, Roger Federer is so worth staying up past midnight for, sorry your boy lost tee hee hee!

Is Sherlock Holmes real? Maybe Thomas is related!

andreawilliams said...

Poor kiddo! I am not forward to my kids figuring iut the d word as far a sthe pets go. Its like a petting zoo around here so they all must "go" someday :(

Wendi said...

Poor Thomas!
That is always the hardest.
9 days...really?
I bet you thought you had by-passed that one-huh?
Here is hoping the 6 hour car ride was somewhat uncomfortable...seeing how he left you with matters of life and death to deal with.

EmmaP said...

I love that he wanted to see baby sophie. and 'one is missing'! How stinkin cute is that? I still think i would prefer sobs and crying over 6 hours w/ a toddler in the car. hahaha.

Loved the fish explanation. Just hope he doesnt think one of his family members went to live with Heavenly Father if he can't find them and thinks they are "missing"! Just kidding. Cute Post.

Anonymous said...

good job avoiding the D and B words.

aaahhhhh....9:30.

that's heavenly.

Anonymous said...

Arhh Bless him...
I think that it is best that you didnt tell him were you buried him... hope you are all ok love steph xxxx

the rogers blog said...

I miss Thomas. He can be so funny. Anyway bad mummy you! Didn't you know your supposed to go out and find an exact same fish and replace it when he's not looking. Then lie your head off for the rest of your life!!

AMY said...

wow, I'm your 29th comment on this entry? I think you don't need my comments anymore lovely! How do you even have time to read them all? So sorry about Squidward though!

Vashey Fam said...

I have been gone way too long! So sorry, life kind of caught up with me and somehow I missed the fish dying! Your son is a doll! I love his brown striped sweater...that would make a great stuffed animal. After your youngest outgrows it, then send it state-side and I will sew it into a fun creature!....if blogging is still around by then.

Anti-Supermom said...

Well, we knew the day would come. So sad and so sweet. Poor (umm, not dead~) fishy :)

I LOVE sleeping in too, but I never, I mean NEVER get to do it.

master Gardner said...

Be glad that you don't have hamsters they had a life expectance of less than 1 month for a total of 4 of them. My garden got fertilized and we went through shoe boxes for caskets not to mention all the digging. If you don't like rain come to Utah we get snow. Your stories bring back so many memories of kids growing up and now grandkids who said history doesn't repeat itself?
Rob should at least give you one day tottaally to yourself. I tried to from time to time ( so I didn't feel so guilty when I took off for scouting)

Anonymous said...

When my son was 6 he discovered Nemo was missing from his fish tank so I asked my husband (who was downstairs at the time) if he'd seen him. He yelled back up, sorry, had to flush that one today!, and our son and I froze.

I could see the gears turning and just as he was starting to ask I said reassuringly, well of course you did because ALL DRAINS LEAD TO THE OCEAN!

Lord thank you for sparing me once again. LOL Blessings, Whitney

melissabastow said...

Too bad about the fish. When I was a newlywed our two beloved fish (Mojo & Jojo) died. My husband also sobbed. In fact, I distinctly remember sitting next to him while he was face down on the bed crying, and I was trying not to laugh outloud, because I was really into being nice to him back then. And then we buried them in our backyard (where I also contained the chuckles, because HOLY COW they are just fish!!!!)