Swim well, dear Julius.

A lot and nothing have been going on simultaneously.

We made a leap of faith and decided to make an offer on a home we had been eyeing for a bit. It is a dream home (of sorts) for us, and the details in the finishes seemed hard to pass by. I forgot to mention we are getting a really great deal on it, as it is a foreclosure that we wouldn't have been able to afford under other circumstances. After truly analyzing our budget and financial state, we decided to move forward--hoping our house will sell but not depending on it. It seems the timing worked out well because they did get another offer after ours. We are set to close on the new property in the beginning of May, and this week I have spent a considerable amount of time planning how the items in our current home will translate into the new one. I'm quite excited about this new project. I'm also quite hopeful someone is going to want to buy this house in the next two months. Any takers?

Earlier this week our fish died. I noticed the food floating on top of the water (unusual), and when I looked for the fish, I noted his lack of swimming. I felt kind of bad because when he got relocated during our "prepare house for showings," his feedings got a little sparse because I kept forgetting about him there. Yes, I feel guilty. You don't have to ask. I am going to pretend to myself he died of old age. I mean, he was 18 months old already. Seems old enough. Anyway, I'm not quite sure what day that I noticed it, but to avoid conflict I gently turned the bowl back around before Josiah noticed himself. Today I sent our fish to the Great Waters during Josiah's nap time. I very intentionally chose this time because seeing dear Julius get flushed wasn't what I perceived would be afternoon entertainment. In fact, I didn't really want Josiah to notice the fish bowl was gone. I guess I could have pulled one of those "wow, our fish changed colors" like my uncle tried on me once...but since we are about to move I honestly didn't feel like restocking the hassle. I was struggling with how to approach it with Josiah, so I thought I would buy myself some time to figure it out.

Josiah didn't notice the bowl was gone. However, as we were preparing dinner he struck up the following conversation:

J: "Mom, the fish needs his break-tist."

Me: He doesn't need breakfast today. (attempt #1 to be truthful yet elusive)

J: Well, then he needs his dinner.

Me: Nope, he doesn't need that either. (attempt #2...realizing the end is near)

J: But he will be saying, "feed me! I need something to eat and drink." (how did you know?)

Me: "Well, Josiah. I have to tell you something. The fish died." (brace for meltdown or panic)

J: "oh no! Is that why he couldn't eat?" (how is this kid so smart?)

Me: "Yes." (brace for it...now it is sinking in....)

J: "ok. Well, can you take me to the park?"

WHAT?! I laughed in gratitude. Really? Crisis averted, fish saga over. The only problem is...at dinner Josiah declared, "Mom, when we move to our new house we need to get a dog AND a cat." Keep dreaming, pal. Only people are getting reliably fed in this house.