Goldfish CPR and a reading!

Since the retreat wasn't taking place, Natalie, Steve, and their daughter Alexa (Ally) and I spent the afternoon at the campgrounds. Natalie cooked up hamburgers and hot dogs, and served a great dessert. 

As we were eating, Denise, a bereaved mom and friend of Natalie's stopped by with a goldfish she and her fiance won at a fair. They gave the fish to Ally. Ally quickly named the fish "Splashy." 

Well, after transferring Splashy from the plastic bag it was in to a Tupperware container, the fish died. 

(Pausing for a moment of silence)

Ally who is seven years old, didn't take it well. She started crying and insisting that Steve do something to save the fish. So Steve did. He started giving the fish CPR. Yes, he brought the fish up to his mouth and blew into it, giving it a couple gentle squeezes after each breath.

(Pausing to give you a moment to get a visual of this)

Well, when Natalie saw this she tried to hold her breath to keep from laughing out loud, but tears started streaming down her face. Ally saw this and ran over to her, distressed about her fish, demanding to know what was wrong with Natalie. 

"Nothing honey. I'm just sad about Splashy," Natalie told her and then covered her face. Between Natalie's tears, laughter that sounded like sobs coming from behind her hands, and her shoulders going up and down, Ally believed that Natalie really was grieving the passing of Splashy. 

Ally ran back to see how Steve was coming along with his resuscitation efforts, and I asked Natalie to confirm the fish's name for me. "Ally. Ally honey," I said to her as gently and as seriously as I could, "I'm hearing a name. The name I'm hearing is "Splashy." Do you know who that is?"

"That's my fish," Ally sobbed. 

"Oh, well, Splashy wants me to tell you he's okay, and he's in fishy heaven. He also wants you to know that he has a sister named "Goldy." If Denise goes to a pet store and looks carefully, she'll be able to find Goldy. Splashy told me he wants you to be a mommy to his sister. She needs a mommy. Okay?" 

"Okay," Ally said. Of course, she wanted Denise to go find "Goldy" right then and there. Luckily, Natalie, Steve and Denise were able to convince Ally that Monday was a better day to find Splashy's sister. After a proper burial, Ally was calm, and soon riding her bike up and down the campgrounds. 

When we were chiding Steve about giving a fish CPR he said, "It worked in the Dr. Doolittle movie with a hamster. I figured, why wouldn't work on a fish?" Good times.