The Queen of Crayfish

My daughter's 4th grade class has been studying real, live crayfish. I'm sure it're fairly interesting and exciting to most ten year olds, but my girl L-O-V-E-S animals, fish, wildlife and/or critters of every kind, so it's been the.coolest.thing.ever. She's never been the baby dolls and barbies kind of girl. She's always been the dinosaurs and dragons kind of girl.

(For the record, I am still to this day a Barbie girl. I get the collectors catalog and everything, so don't knock it.)

At a recent school awards assembly, her teacher introduced her as "The Queen of Crayfish" because she was the only one in class who was never, ever afraid to pick one up.

(Also for the record, this brings to mind the fact that I took an F in high school biology because I refused to dissect a tapeworm. Seriously, a tapeworm, people! Blehhhh!)

So, when the study drew to a close and her teacher sent home permission slips to return IF your child wanted to take a crayfish home and IF you were crazy enough to let him/her... Well, it would have been borderline child abuse to tell your critter loving kid "NO". And it will make you feel less guilty for telling her "No, you may not have a pet lizard/snake/stinky reptile of any sort".

So, we have a new pet! Yayyyyyy....

Meet Spike:

Did you just jump out of your seat? Oh, because I did. This thing CREEPS ME THE HECK OUT!

But Mom, it's just like a small lobster...

I do not like lobster, not even to eat. It's creepy.

Mom! Don't say that, you'll hurt his feelings!

(Do crayfish have feelings? Are they even supposed to take up residence in one's home ever?)

How could I deprive her or her brothers of this joy?

I probably shouldn't show The Queen of Crayfish this:

Bleh! Even as an entree, they CREEP ME THE HECK OUT!

But at least I didn't have to buy her a lizard, right?

xoxo

~Heather