Before you think I’m big on word play let me quickly let you know that Flabbergasted and Overwhelmed were the names of our two goldfish. Before them we had Ovagello and Yunnafinn. Then we had Jaws 1 and Jaws 2. After them we also had Kabis and Kadis, who have all gone to Fish Heaven. My kids, especially my daughter comes up with the most awesome names for their pet goldfish.

There was a time a bird came into the house and with the help of the gardener they managed to catch it and put it into the (dead) hamster’s cage and as it was my birthday the next day, they presented the caged bird to a rather horrified me. They had named it Fluffy Cheese.

Our future dog has also been named but Dream Girl has sworn me to secrecy with the name because she thinks someone might steal it and I’m inclined to agree with her because it is a rather cool name for a dog. She thought it up about five years ago and we’ve not had a chance to name a new dog the name she came up with.

I got the kids goldfish because I read in one of those books that give you parenting tips and tricks that allowing the child to have a pet increased a sense of responsibility. So instead of getting them a pet alligator as we don’t have a pool, I decided to get two goldfish. Also the first lot of goldfish only came because Googlee did what happens to be every mother’s nightmare. He was all of two years old and as we came out of the supermarket in a mall, there was a pet shop just opposite that had a huge fish tank on display. Also the mall has a lot of water features and fish too so my little Googlee was totally fascinated with the fish. He asked for the fish and I said no. That’s when he suddenly started crying and lay down on the floor.

I looked at him in confusion. Who on earth was this child and what had happened to my cute little boy who was pushing the mini trolley in the supermarket a few moments ago? I was seriously flustered and realized later on that had I kept reading that parenting manual I’d have learnt that ignoring such tantrums was the done thing. Anyway I was still on page 29 and I was keen on teaching the kids some responsibility and went into the pet store.

The owner said you didn’t need a complicated fish tank to own goldfish. Just a good clean big glass bowl with boiled (but not hot!) water and some fish food was all I needed. I had just been gifted a huge glass flower vase in the shape of a round bowl so the container for the fish was sorted. Then to that we added some coloured ornamental glass pebbles that I used as decorative features in my floral arrangements and voila! We had an abode for the two goldfish we carefully carried home in the plastic bag full of water.

I must say the kids have learnt how to look after the fish and do take responsibility in feeding and cleaning out the bowl once a week as recommended by the pet store -owner. We do get disappointed and upset when the fish die and it does take time before we replace them out of respect but I’m happy that the kids are probably ready for the responsibility of a puppy and I strongly feel it’s not me who is going to have to look after it. So I guess the next pet that comes into the home will now be a dog. And yes, we will get two more goldfish. I miss their presence in their designated spot!