My friends, have you ever experienced something that breaks your heart and makes you laugh at the same time? Last year I experienced such a moment and I would love to share it with you. You see, in that moment of conflicting emotions I found myself inspired to learn more about prayer. I know inspiration can happen when we least expect it. I just never guessed it would happen while I fought the urge to cry and laugh. So please, come on in and sit down. It’s a little chilly this morning so I made some hot chocolate to warm you up.
Let me tell you about Goldie, Bessie, and Sophie. You may think I am talking about my Mother’s friends from Mahjong, but alas, they were the names of my daughter’s beloved (and departed) goldfish. I had no idea how hard it would be to take care of goldfish. My husband and I were plunged into a world of PH balanced water, smelly fish food, filters, and rock cleaners. I advise you to visit the University of “Google” to research goldfish care before you let your child play any carnival game that lists “goldfish in a bag” as a prize.
Goldie and Bessie were the first to join our happy home. All went well for the first two weeks until Bessie came down with fish tail rot. I don’t want to go into all the details as to how and why fish tails can rot, but let’s just say it isn’t pretty. As Bessie’s tail began to disintegrate, Goldie started to follow her around the tank and constantly nip at her. In the beautiful, innocent eyes of my daughter, she found it sweet that Goldie was”helping” Bessie get around the tank. Unfortunately, all that “helping” landed poor Bessie into the tank filter where she met her end. My daughter was the one to discover Bessie and ran crying into my arms. My heart broke as I hugged my child tight and watched my husband mouth the words, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”
Call me naïve, but I just assumed everyone knows the first rule of Fish 101. It’s the unwritten (but quite clear) rule that states that when a beloved fish passes, you are supposed to place it in the toilet, have your child say a quick goodbye, say a prayer and then flush. Guess what? My husband clearly did not know the rules of Fish 101. As I comforted my crying child he came back into the room and mouthed, “I took care of it.” I gave him a confused look to which he responded with a hand gesture indicating he had flushed her down the toilet. In return, I gave him the look I usually reserve for my 2 year old before he is placed in a time-out. I mouthed back (while shouting in my head) “She didn’t get a chance to say goodbye! You better figure something out!”
Are you still with me? Anyone want marshmallows in your hot cocoa? Trust me; this does lead to laughter and my own Judaic inspiration.
My husband leaves the room and comes back with a huge ball of toilet paper in his hands. My daughter was then led to believe that Bessie was wrapped deep inside the toilet paper ball. The whole family walked to the bathroom and my husband carefully placed “Bessie” in the water. We then encouraged our daughter to say something nice about her fish. “Bessie loved to swim around her mermaid statue. I’ll miss her.” Sweet right? Then it comes to me. I wanted to say a prayer that would celebrate G-d and comfort my child. Only two prayers came to mind. Since the blessing over bread was clearly inappropriate, I went with my other choice which was the Shema. In that moment, I realized how much more I wanted to connect with prayer. Why did I only know a couple prayers by heart? What prayers did I want my children to know by heart? What prayers did I want to be a constant in my family’s life? As it turns out, after talking with Kreine, the Shema was an appropriate prayer. Kreine, this is your cue to add a comment!
And now here is the moment that led to laughter. After reciting the Shema, we had my daughter flush. Tears flowed as the water went down. Those tears quickly turned to cries of horror as our toilet became clogged and the ball of toilet paper (or Bessie in my child’s eye) quickly began to rise to the top threatening to overflow. Now my child was sad and traumatized. I hugged my daughter and hid my head in her hair while I bit down peals of laughter. How could I not find humor in such a ridiculous moment?
By the time Goldie and Sophie passed, my husband was properly schooled in Fish 101. Both fish would have their proper goodbyes without clogging the toilet. Unfortunately, we did have a slight “hiccup” when it was time for Goldie and Sophie’s farewell. As we flushed Goldie and Sophie, one of the fish decided to make a last hurrah and start swimming in circles. Realizing one of the fish was still alive my children started to scream and cry. Unfortunately, it was too late. That’s why if you ever ask my daughter what happened to Goldie and Sophie, she will tell you that they went to visit the ocean next to Florida before going to be with G-d. How is that for creativity on the spot?
So now I ask, what prayers inspire you?