The Age of Aquarium

Last night, Uncle Andy & Uncle Bob came over with the boys' chanukah gift, a complete fresh-water aquarium with all the paraphernalia (filter, air pump, heater, siphon, and 2 fish, one of whom looks pregnant). The whole point was for Ben & David to take on this responsibility, so I forced myself to stay in the kitchen cooking dinner while the boys got a tutorial in how to care for the fish and the equipment - and now I have no idea how to do any of it, which was the point. I wasn't going to go through another round of "Oh, mommy, please can I have a hamster/rat/lizard/bunny?, I'll do everything, I promise."

Andy is my dearest friend from college, and when I first moved to San Francisco and reconnected with him, we became so close that we discussed the possibility of getting married; we were both pianists, we liked vintage music, we'd both given up on meeting the right guy. I mentioned the possible marriage to my mother, whose immediate reaction was, "Oh, but honey, you know there's a problem. . . . . he's not Jewish!" When I pointed out that being gay might be a larger impediment, she stammered something about 'everything is negotiable.' However, things worked out for the best, and we're both happily married to the men of our dreams (it just took me one extra try). And naturally, when we asked Andy & Bob to be the boys' godparents, they each wanted to know which one got to be the fairy godmother.

Looking at the hypnotic bubbles and undulations in our new aquarium - I think they're both a bit of a fairy godmother, giving us all so many wonderful new experiences, from watching the miracle of undersea life to the even bigger miracle of having a pet that I don't have to take care of! (And yes, I know I ended that sentence with a preposition, but watching the fish has made me too mellow to care . . . . )