Had I known that he liked them, this would have been settled much sooner than now. It was not until our stay with Mike and Joni that the issue came to a head.
They had recently set up a nice fresh water aquarium in their den and it was alive and sparkling when we arrived. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the fish and it was truly relaxing, however WB was mesmerized!
Just love that word.
Sometimes I find myself mesmerized by certain things, but not too often. Mostly I think I have just about seen it all. For WB, we need him to be mesmerized with something. So many idle hours, so many things he wants to do and cannot, so many times I can tell his anxiety is exacerbated with boredom.
He mentioned many times how he liked their aquarium. Then he said, "I want one of those". BINGO
When he says he wants to go hunting, wants to go fishing, wants to drive, wants to buy a boat ~ it all results in the big fat NO. Zip, zero, nothing, nada. How discouraging that must be for him.
But the aquarium, now that is something I felt we could do something about and rather soon. The plan was for the kids and I to go in together and make it happen for his birthday in February, but he would not let it rest. Moving furniture around to make space for him to either enjoy by sitting in his chair or lying in bed during a cleaning frenzy last week only made it worse.
Of course I must research it a tad only to find that an aquarium is recommended for Alzheimer's patients as it calms aggressive behavior, eliminates stress, holds their attention span and helps with eating patterns.
Once again, that is not in any books I've found on daily living, but I did find these:
And excuse me, but where with this venture was there a manual that said you will most likely spend money you did not plan on when setting it up. Kit, tank, hood, light, filter, pump, hose, gravel, background, decorations, chemicals, salt, thermometer, heater, water test strips, food.....forget the fish, that is the least of it. Katie Bug and I have definitely exhausted our allowance this month.
Was it worth it? Heck yea. Would I do it again? Absolutely. We have hit the ball out of the park with this new treat.
It took Kate, Michelle, Hunter and I to get it together and thank goodness Hunter had some experience. Two great friends offered me their 55-gallon tanks, but am simply not that brave nor ready to take on that much responsibility.
It took Kate, Michelle, Hunter and I to get it together and thank goodness Hunter had some experience. Two great friends offered me their 55-gallon tanks, but am simply not that brave nor ready to take on that much responsibility.
Today, we have 6 new very small and very cheap Tetras currently enjoying their new home as I patiently wait on them to die. WB, on the other hand, is asking me when the bigger fish are coming. I've done the math on the total gallons versus fish count for small community fish for beginners and assumed that is what our program would be.
That said, I assumed wrong. So I then start thinking perhaps 4-5 Angel Fish or Barb on the semi-aggressive side. Wrong again, WB's talking BASS.
JustBrantley
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