Rosabella

Today I went to the park with Miriam's preschool class. AND I forgot my camera- and most of what I saw it is hard to put into words! It was very interesting and fun. But I will try and tell you about the latest addition to our family Rosabella.

We arrived to the park about 10 AM. From 10 AM to 1:30 PM we could pretty much do whatever we wanted within the park. At 1:30 my foot was killing me and I was so excited to meet and board the bus to head back. Well, we all get to the meeting place (which was a ten story tall cement tree which you could climb up) and I notice we are not heading to the bus. They are telling us what to do and Miriam explains "Mom we are going to play games". Games great I think! So duck duck goose or perhaps tag? Great I can sit down and watch...

My hopes were dashed as I held Miriam's hand and headed to the fish tank. I'll I could understand from her teachers is that we were going to catch a fish. To eat, for a pet? I had no idea. The closer I got the more my heart dropped and the more Miriam's went to cloud nine. I gave the fish lady some money and she gave us a red bucket. With the bucket we headed over to the fish tank. Which was basically a 20 by 100 foot cement tank that was about 12 inches deep. It was a huge fish bowl. The the fish bowls you have when you are too cheap to pay to get your fish a filter system. You know the kind of water I am talking about.

Miriam, totally pumped to get a new fish dived right in! Scooping up the water and determined to get a fish ASAP. It became very apparent that the fish knew just what to do- stay in the middle of the tank. So desperate Moms and Dads started to use the buckets to throw buckets full of water into the middle of the tank.

As soon as the water began to fly the boys started to fill up their squirt guns with this fish water. As soon as I got hit with my first gun full of water I was done. I gave the bucket and told Miriam to go for it. But I was done trying to get a fish. I just held on to the back of her skirt so she would not fall into the water. Miriam was getting covered in fish water- I was getting hot and it was becoming very apparent we were going home without a fish.

I walked back to the group with a crying Miriam. I guess the thought of leaving without a fish was too much for her. I have to admit I was just thinking about how I could squirt that hand sanitizer cream all over my body. Before I even had time to bribe Miriam with ice cream instead of a fish (yes, this is bad but I was desperate) one of her best little friends gives her the fish he caught!

Thankfully after we were all covered in fish water we headed back to the bus ride home. Miriam looked down at her fish and said so sweetly 'Mom I will name it Rosabella. She will be my fish and then she will die and I will get a rabbit'.

We get Rosabella the best seat we can find on the bus. On the floor next to Miriam's feet. I ask her if she can handle taking care of the fish on the ride home. She says she is scared Rosabella will get car sick (didn't she just tell me she wanted her dead?) but she thinks it will be okay. I doze off and am awakened by Miriam crying.

I look at her and she looks on the ground. Rosabella's bucket tipped over and now all the water is all over the floor of the bus. I see a flopping fish and as we climb and hill and then descend I watch the water go towards us and then down. I seriously do not know what to do- but think I better warn the people in front of us that they have a live fish and water coming at them. I lean over the seat to tell them in Chinese but as I am talking realize I have NO idea how to say what I want to say. So I just say "Fish- water" they seem to not think it is a big deal and go back to sleep.

I look down again and the fish is gone. But there is still the fish water. In the rush to find whatever napkins (none) I have in my backpack I dump all of our pretzels onto the floor. So we have fish water mixed now with German imported pretzels. The plus of this was that the pretzels absorbed a lot of the water. Did I mention Miriam was crying? Now only that her fish was dead but she could sense Mommy was mad. And I was.

I just gave Miriam a bag and asked her to put all of the pretzels and hand full of Kleenexes into the bag- and we needed to find the dead fish. Miriam finished picking up the garbage and I got sideways under the seat to look for Rosabella. Wedged in between to joints was the flopping fish. I looked at her for two second thinking in my heart if I was going to let her die. Miriam already thought she was dead and this would be my chance to get rid of her forever.

When I pulled her out and placed her back into the bucket it was like she had returned from the dead. Miriam was amazed and I was still wondering why I let her live. No amount of hand sanitizer was able to clean us up from fish water mixed in with Chinese bus dirt. I will let you know if you lives, but if she dies we are not getting a rabbit.