Mischief

Two days ago we (meaning Kaden, Danny, and I) were playing Halo online with my sisters and their families. We were enjoying ourselves; visiting with our family while taunting and shooting the enemy in our all-out war. While we were playing, Preston meandered around, watching us or playing with toys to his hearts desire. At one point during this fun family event, Preston found his way upstairs and was gone for quite a while. He ended up coming back downstairs in time for us to get him ready for bed.

The next day I was cleaning the house. I had completed almost all of my daily chores and went upstairs to get ready for the day. When I got to the top of the stairs, I smelled something weird. Having just changed Preston’s dirty diaper, I knew it wasn’t him. Having just cleaned the bathroom, I knew it wasn’t anything growing in there. I followed my nose to the boys’ bedroom, and that is when I realized where the smell was coming from.

I looked at the fish tank that is on top of Preston’s dresser. It contains the only pet that Kaden has been allowed which is a fish given to him from his Aunt Jill that he so lovingly named Jack. But instead of seeing the nice clean water and happy little yellow fish swimming around, all I could see was brown liquid. The smell was awful and the look was even more revolting.

In the time that Preston had been upstairs during our “fun family event” he had managed to pour almost an entire bottle of fish food into the fish tank. I could no longer see Jack, nor could I see any of the plants that are in the tank. All I could see was a murky brown liquid with at least an inch and a half of fish food pellets that had now sunk to the bottom of the fish tank.

Needless to say I called the boys in to the room, prepared Kaden for the worst (a dead fish) and scolded Preston for even touching the fish tank that he knows is off limits. I then went to work cleaning up the mess; my first task being to check on the state of the fish. By some small miracle, Jack actually survived! I hurriedly put him in a bowl of fresh water where he sucked in the clean water mouthful after mouthful. He looked like he was gasping for air. I cleaned the tank and put Jack back in his home.

It wasn’t until after it was all clean that I realized I should have taken a picture of this mischievous act that my two-year old boy could accomplish and almost get away with. Now I guess I have to make do with the written details of the event. Someday, when his children create their own amusement, I can point out this story and say, “You got into plenty of mischief yourself.”