Skip to main content

27 cent fish

Sometimes as parents, we make mistakes.  And sometimes, if we're lucky we learn a thing or two from those mistakes.

Two weeks ago, Hannah had a dollar to spend.  And me thinking that I didn't want any more junk in the house suggested that she buy a fish with the money.  We had a little fish tank from our last fish and I thought, "What a great way to spend a dollar and they won't be something that I have to take care of very long.

Here is my mistake.  Hannah does not put value on things associated with their cost.  She loves just as deeply something that is free as she does that costs hundreds of dollars.  She will play with a free toy that came from the fast food restaurant just as much as she will play with something that we saved up for months to get.  I made the mistake of thinking that was just associated with toys.

As the first first died, she was okay, but as she went to bed a little over tired, she cried herself to sleep because her little fish had died.  She still had two more in the tank.  The second went with no fanfare, but then I noticed something yesterday.

Hannah came in telling me that she thought her fish was going to die.  She put a little giraffe next to the tank to keep it company. Checked in numerous times through out the day.  She was genuinely concerned about this little fish.  She loved it! She didn't care that this fish cost 27 cents, what she cared about was that it was her fish and she enjoyed watching it bubble around her tank.

This morning when she woke up, the fish was dead.  But she knew that she had helped comfort it in its last moments by providing companionship.  Her compassion is one of her greatest gifts.  She loves deeply and she doesn't withhold her love because there is a chance that she won't be together long.  I think it's exactly how she makes friends so easily.  She allows herself to love every person, animal, toy, you name it, she encounters.  It is a good reminder for me to love without fear of loss.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

KAF No-Fuss Focaccia

I really like making bread.  It's fun to get your hands dirty, but I understand that yeast is a scary thing for people who don't have experience with it.  Somehow, I started using it when I was young and too immature to understand the fear that comes along with wasting time, money and energy.  I had time and energy in abundance.  My first real forte into baking was in the 7 th grade.  I must have cooked before then because I choose to see which flour rose the highest using a cinnamon roll recipe.  I made a lot of cinnamon rolls that year and when I turned in my report, there were questions asked of me that I had no idea what she meant.  Questions about the weather and the heat of the oven.  Things that I didn't know could make a difference in the baking of bread.  Lots has happened since that first memorable baking.  Today, I invited a friend over to make bread.  I was kind of concerned about the strength of the yeast, because we bought a huge stash of it last year someti
5 comments
Read more

Project 52 Crossword Puzzle

Hannah and I had the car on Thursday and since it was officially my turn to plan date night, she and I hit the store.  We went to Target which has those great dollar bins right when you enter the store.  I found a cross word puzzle and some water balloons.  My thoughts were to make some chocolate bowls with the water balloons and do a crossword while we waited for them to harden.  Well, I got the idea of orange truffles while I was sitting around that afternoon and went to see if we had any of the stuff that would make it and I kind of had it.  So, I made up some truffles and then we covered them with chocolate that night and they were so tasty.  We made it through one crossword puzzle and cheated very little :-D  It was fun working on it together and some of the clues and words were a little ludicrous.  All in all not a bad date for a buck and some pantry raiding. In case you are interested in the dessert, I took the McCormick Eggnog Truffle recipe and modified it by omitting the n
6 comments
Read more

Tasty Tuesday: Loaded Baked Potato Soup

  I've had loaded baked potato soup on the menu most of the month of November, not really knowing when I was going to make it. Last night was the night. I started with this recipe from Betty Crocker as an idea but as I saw that it served 15 and looked at the various quantities while I cooked, some things changed, and wanted to share the final recipe here so you can enjoy it and I won't forget it.  Loaded Baked Potato Soup serves 3 with seconds and a serving left over 1/2 package of bacon 1 small onion chopped 3 cups chicken broth (I use Better Than Boullion) 2 large baking potatoes, peeled, cubed 2 tbsp butter 2 heaping tbsp all-purpose flour 2 cups milk divided 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2teaspoon freshly ground pepper A generous helping of sour cream 4 oz sharp Cheddar cheese shredded (half a block) separated 2 sliced green onions separated In skillet, cook bacon over medium heat 6 to 7 minutes or until crisp; drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon; set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons d
Post a Comment
Read more