Typical

Today I bought my son a Beta fish. He named the thing Beta (original), and proceeded wax poetic about how pretty Beta is, how he loves Beta fish, how he wants to give Beta a pretty home.

Ten minutes later, he earnestly asked, "Mom, when is Beta going to die?"

My heart lurched when I considered that he might be thinking of the whole circle of life so soon, and I was quiet while I thought of an appropriate way to segue into discussions of aging and the afterlife.

But before I could say anything, he continued, "Will she die soon, Mommy? Because when Beta dies, I want a turtle. Or a bigger fish."

Or a prettier, perhaps younger model, Mr. Jagger????

I feel for my future daughter-in-law, I really do.