More Pets

I don't think my family has enough pets, so today I added to the collection.  Yesterday, we had a cat, a dog, a parakeet, a frog, and seventeen fish.  Today, we have a cat, a dog, a parakeet, a frog, seventeen fish, and four hermit crabs.  

How did that happen, you ask?  Well, let me tell you about our trip to the mall. The kids didn't have school today, so naturally I had to find something for them to do.  My daughter wanted to go to the mall.  (That's what girls do, isn't it?)  So I took them there, thinking it would be a harmless trip.  We'd poke around a few stores, maybe get a pair of jeans, and that's it.

Wrong.  As soon as we got to the center of the mall, my kids spotted a hermit crab stand.  Yes.  This thing was filled with an assortment of crabs, all with cute painted shells.

"Oh, Mom!  Can we get a hermit crab?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Then I took a look at the little crustaceans.  They were kind of cute.  And they are easy to take care of - so easy that my kids could do it themselves.

Hmmm.  Should I, or shouldn't I?  Would these little varmits teach my kids about taking care of pets? It's a gamble.

"I'm not going to take care of these things.  They will be in your rooms, and you will feed them, and clean them.  If they die, it's your fault."

They readily agreed to those terms.

So now, each kid has two hermit crabs.  Their names are Slow Poke, Crabby, Sam, and Little Lil. Let's see how long they live.

Oh yes...and as we walked out of the mall, carrying our crabs in their habitats, I heard some kids whine to their mother, "Oh, they got hermit crabs!  Why can't we?"

The mother's response:  "Well, that mommy must really love her kids!"

I chuckled.  Yeah.  That, or I'm just plain stupid!