Meet the newest member of the Anthony family: Blueberry Waterdragon the Betta Fish.
If y'all follow my newsletters, you know all about my son already. He's a special kid. Warm and sweet, with a big heart full of love. He'd been dropping hints about getting a pet for years. You see, being on the spectrum, he has trouble making friends. He talks to
kids at school but overall, identifying with kids his age has always been a problem. He could rattle on at length about biology, world cultures, historic events, and space. Adults love it. Other thirteen-year-olds? Not so much.
But I digress.
My husband and I have been hesitant about pulling the pet trigger because, as smart as he is, he's also so scatterbrained it makes my head hurt. He could lose his homework in a zipped backpack, I swear. I have to keep notes all over the house reminding him to do things. There's even a decal on the underside of the toilet lid commanding him to flush in big bold letters. Putting a living thing at his mercy seemed like a disaster waiting to happen.
Then this Christmas, he asked for a fish. It seemed like a good, low maintenance starter pet. We decided the responsibility would be good for him, so I went to the pet store and got a small aquarium and all the necessary accouterments to get him started. He was so excited on Christmas morning, y'all. It was amazing.
A few days later we went to the store and let him wander around and choose whatever fish he wanted. He asked the clerk all kinds of fish questions, offered up some fish facts of his own, and settled on a midnight blue betta fish. Of course, he let his little sister name it.
Blueberry has been living at A's bedside now for a week and shockingly enough he's still alive, but more than that, he's made my son so happy. Crazy how such a small thing can make such a huge impact on someone.
Did you get an amazing gift for the holidays? If so, I'd LOVE to know what it is!