Fish not working

When we drive past construction vehicles that are parked and not in use Brody typically tells us that they're "not working". For instance, "backhoe not working". On Sunday night I heard that term used in an entirely different manner. As Brody and I went to feed his fish before bedtime, Brody said "oh no, fish not working!" Sure enough, one of his fish was parked- laying on it's side at the bottom of the tank. 10 days after we received the fish one was already dead. And the other two looked like they were struggling.

Brody helped me find the net and we put his poor fish in the toilet. Brody asked me to close the lid then he flushed his fish to its final resting place. He didn't seem traumatized. When I told him the fish was dead, he said "like the bugs" that he had stepped on no more than an hour earlier on Mamie's porch.

In the morning my fears of a mass death were confirmed. Brody's two remaining fish were floating at the top of the tank next to the filter. Brody said "put fish in potty" and I let Brody and Jacob to take care of it. I hear they watched the fish swirl down the drain this time.

Brody seems to understand that the fish are gone for good. He hasn't asked about them or about his empty tank. He hasn't tried to feed them, which he loved to do while they were alive. I can't say that he understands the concept of death but he handled it much better than I expected. Jacob and I are going to wait a while before replacing his fish. We have a beach trip coming up and it'll be nice to have one less animal to cover with interim care.