Farewell, Goldie Number One

Makayla's beloved fish "Goldie" recently died. A victim of unfortunate circumstances, the fish was found floating lifelessly in her tank, which sits on the second highest shelf in one of the bookcases in Makayla's bedroom. My daughter was unaware of her pet's demise. My husband thought we should just tell her that Goldie was dead but I, wanting to spare my child from any unnecessary pain, convinced him to buy a replacement fish. After searching through the various containers of beta fish at the local pet store, we finally found a fish that looked similar enough to Goldie. After a brisk tank cleaning and unceremonious farewell to Goldie, "Goldie Number Two" was placed into Goldie's former home. Just in time, too, as my daughter told me how much she loved her Goldie.

Even at the age of 3, my daughter already grasps the concept of death. Unfortunately, we have had to discuss the concept of death with her earlier this year. After the death of close relatives, she wanted to know what happened to them and we told her, in age-appropriate terms, that her loved ones had stopped breathing, closed their eyes and gone to heaven to be with Jesus. While I know she would understand that her fish was dead, I didn't want her to suffer the pain of loss again, especially when it is so unnecessary. And while my husband jokes that we "deceived" our child, I don't feel bad at all for doing what I did. To her, that fish swimming around in the tank is still Goldie and that's all she needs to know.