Happy Earth Day!

When I was pregnant with my second child and nervous about how my 19 month old son would react to a new baby in the house, a friend suggested buying him a fish.  That way he had something to take care of and feed while I was busy with the baby.  The first mistake I made was following this advice and the second was putting my husband in charge of getting the fish.  I was picturing a 99 cent plastic bowl with a goldfish or other low-life expectancy breed.  Instead he came home with a large tank and filter, several plastic coral reef decorations and 6 guppies (known as a “hardy” breed).  My son was interested for about 22 seconds before he toddled off and I was left staring at an extra six mouths to feed.  OK, so maybe I am being a bit dramatic.  It’s not like I had to change their diapers or rock them or make sure they were getting enough tummy time (on the contrary, I had to make sure they weren’t going belly up!)  But when my son was being demanding and my new baby girl was crying and I was on the brink of losing it, I would notice that tank full of guppies out of the corner of my eye with their little mouths anxiously  opening and closing at the surface of the water, hungry for some fresh flakes of guppy food and it literally would push me over the edge.  Slowly, one by one they began to pass on to a better place in fishy heaven (I promise I fed them regularly although I refused to clean that tank) until I was left with just one little guppy.  I fed him faithfully secretly hoping he would soon join his friends.  Every once in a while I would hold my breath with excitement when I didn’t see him swimming around the tank only to discover he was hiding in that damn coral décor at the bottom of the tank.  One day as I peeked into the tank I almost fell over when I saw 13 microscopic baby guppies (otherwise known as “fry” I learned on the internet).  No…..no,no,no,no NOOOOOO!!!  Of course my one remaining guppy had to be a female, and a tramp to boot!

Well, here I am almost 3 years later and, alas, the guppies are no longer.  I like to think that I am smarter now, not so easily tricked into added responsibility.  I also have another newborn, my precious little Gabriel.  My husband called me from work yesterday because a co-worker was wondering if he wanted a red maple tree in honor of Earth Day.  My husband said that it was just a couple of feet tall right now and would look great in our backyard.  I see a glimpse of the future: my 4 year old whining, my 2 1/2 year old hitting my 4 year old, the baby screaming and hungry and out of the corner of my eye…..a little maple seedling in the yard, wilting, thirsty, needing some of my attention.  “The only way I will even consider it is if YOU promise to take care of this tree” I demand .   I awoke this morning to my newborn’s hungry cries and seconds later broke up a fight between my other 2 kids about who called the other one “bad” first.  In my sleep-deprived state I stumble, on autopilot, towards the coffee pot and stop dead in my tracks.  There on the kitchen table is a maple seedling ready to be planted.  I feel my blood pressure start to climb and my heart rate quicken.

Is there such a thing as tree heaven???