Swim, Sally, Swim!

A few weeks ago (actually it may be longer than that but I have a memory like a... oops, I've forgotten!) our pet goldfish died. We'd had him for about four years so he was quite old. Little Z was unconsolable (as she generally is about anything!) whereas Big J wasn't really bothered by it. He just kept saying "Our fish died" to random people.

Big J and I found ourselves in the petshop this afternoon after I had picked him up from day nursery. Pets At Home is next to Halfords where we had to go to buy a couple of Easter pressies for the kids (alternatives to chocolate from their Granny & Granddad). We only went into the petshop to look at the rabbits. He has not stopped talking about bunnies since visiting Toby my friend Sarah's house bunny.

We started off by looking at the rabbits and guinea pigs, when a little girl came along and shoved Big J out of the way. I was secretly hoping he would shove her back, but he decided to do the sensible thing (good job I can rely on my 2 year old to do the right thing!) and walk away to look at something else. We had a look at a few other animals before ending up by the aquariums where we found the horrid little girl with her (pregnant!)mum. (What will she do when her horrid little girl kicks off after she's had the baby!!!!). Big J was looking at a catfish stuck to the side of the tank. He was saying, "It's not working". The little girl came up to the tank and Big J pointed to the catfish saying, "Look. It's not swimming." Well, I think she was trying to agree with him, but had misheard what he had said, so, to my great amusement and in front of her mum and the shop assistant who was helping them buy a goldfish, horrid girl replied to Big J, "It hasn't got a willy!" I grinned even more when my lovely son replied. "No, it hasn't got a willy!" This was an opportunity I could not miss. I turned to the mum and shop assistant and said, "Goodness, where do they learn to talk like that?" The mother looked horrified. Well, she had better get used to it as I am sure she has worse to come. During my PGCE I read in a book that however annoying a child is you should remember he or she is someones precious son or daughter. I can do it in the classroom, but in my own time when I'm not being paid to do it, it's just not that easy, is it?

Anyway, Big J and I went over to the goldfish and decided to buy one for our big lonely goldfish at home. He looked quite a big one in the shop and we took the advice of the "pet shop man" who said it would be okay to put a young goldfish in with an older and bigger one. When we got it home we introduced it to the tank following the instructions they had given us. The old fish is massive in comparison to the new one. I hope they will be okay together.

I made the mistake (as I have before!) of letting the children decide what to call the fish. Big J had sort of decided on "Doodles" (the dog from the Tweenies) when Little Z talked him in to calling it Sally! Oh dear! So, 'Sally' it has to be.