My daughter unexpectedly lost something that she was so excited to have...her baby turtle. It died, and we have no idea why. She only just got him 5 days ago.
Not yet named.I have no clue where she even got the idea that she wanted to have a turtle. She wants me to have a baby sister or brother for her so I guess this is her substitution. But, she wanted one and didn't need my help to get him. I mean this girl was serious!! She was doing her Google research and visiting pet stores. I couldn't understand this all of a sudden urge and figured it would pass. Well, she showed me!! One day after church she convinced me to take her to a nearby petstore to have a look. However, they didn't sell turtles although they gave her information on another pet shop nearby. She had a backup plan though. Because she read that she could probably even order a turtle online but she needed a credit card. So, I gave her permission to load an unused prepaid credit card that I had in case she was going to explore that option. She didn't need to. She decided last Friday to check out the other recommended pet store only to find that they had turtles. Oh boy was she excited!!
Oh but wait...I gotta mention how she prepared for this turtle before telling you about her getting one.
In the midst of her research and checking out pet stores, she made a stop at the thrift shop - good old Value Village. They had a 10 gallon aquarium for $15 and she called me right away. This, was actually when I realized that this girl was really serious. She stopped at another thrift shop to see if they had any aquariums too then went back to get the one at Value Village. Without me, you know what she did?....lol She borrowed the shopping cart to transport the aquarium home since she obviously couldn't carry it. Had me cracking up when I found out. Sure did! God Bless her....gotta love her determination. Takes after her momma if I must say so myself. It was funny when she was telling me about the looks that people were giving her as she strolled through the streets to get home pushing the cart with the aquarium. Needless to say, I now have a shopping cart in my garage that she needs to take back when the sidewalks are clear of snow again. She made other stops on other days too though. She made sure she picked up turtle food and water conditioner and some kind of gel stuff to condition the turtle's shell, a thermometer, something that looked like a little island for the turtle's basking and special lights. I mean, she was hooking it up! She forgot a few things though and I hope that those things didn't contribute to the turtle's ultimate demise. The aquarium fit lights weren't working so she was substituting with lamps and she didn't get a chance to pick up her plants. And, I think she was basing the turtle research she did on adult turtles and not baby turtles. But, what do I know? It's important to keep in mind too though that when she went to the pet store she bought the turtle from, that it was only supposed to be to check it out. But, in her excitement she brought him home. Little unnamed turtle about the size of a quarter.
I don't know what happened. All I know, is that it wasn't me! She left me to babysit the turtle on the weekend but when she came home Monday night that turtle was alive!!! It sure was!! Today, is another day and it must have passed in the middle of the night or early morning. Again, I really don't know. I'm still scratching my head on this one. I'll have to play Sherlock Holmes when I get home tonight. I hope its playing tricks on her!!
She's been texting me since early morning with her distress over the loss of her turtle and I feel so bad. She said she is 100% positive that he is dead because he hasn't moved an inch. I mean turtles really don't do much anyways so you can imagine my questioning how sure she was. But, she's sure. So now what?
I will say....that I am soo proud of her because of the initiative she took and everything she did to get her turtle. Clearly, there needs to be a bit more research. Then again, maybe she got a lemon? lol So, when I get home tonight, i'll have to find a way to cheer her up. Maybe take her to a movie. Good thing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been out of the box office for years. lol I'll be a bit more involved now to help her figure out what went wrong and what needs to be done differently. Then, when she thinks she got it right, i'll pay for a new turtle for her to try again. In the meantime, how do you dispose of a dead turtle? The ground is still kind of too frozen for a small burial. What about the compost? Guess we'll have to Google that too.
Furman, you are coming home to a teenager!! Be ready!
Parenting is no joke!! lol
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