Today my husband found our family fish, AKA-Ralph, floating on his side. We knew the day would come where we'd have to explain death to our child. We were not looking forward to it. After each of us decided that the other spouse would have to tell our daughter that it was time to swish the fish, we both climbed the stairs to confess the tragedy.
Dad softly explained that Ralph was no longer living and he's dead...Our sweet girl said "why?" and Dad gave a simple answer that included a trip to Walmart to purchase a new fish. She said, "Okay" and asked when she could go get the new fish. No sadness or tears. She just continued to eat her breakfast. Just like any other day. No long discourse on what death is or "Is Ralph in Heaven?" Just a typical weekday morning. Funny.
We were thinking it was going to be so hard. You never can tell.
