But is he qualified?

That was the question Trina proposed to me after I told her that Robert would be taking care of my two goldfish while I was out of town.

About a month ago, Alicia and I had an adventurous day and ended up with two gold fish. We named them Franklin Delroy and Ofelia Loraine.

I had goldfish when I was younger, but I don’t remember the need for the water to be changed a few times per week. I’m pretty sure my parents played a large role in that area of my relationship with the fish. I just named them and fed them. So now that I’m 22 and apparently responsible enough to take care of my own goldfish, I’ve had to set aside time every few days to change the water.

Trina and I did the smelly task this afternoon. As Trina helped me, she had many questions about goldfish...

What’s in the food they eat?
How do they talk?
Do they like the rocks in their bowl?
What if they lay eggs?

Why do they need to stay in the water?
What if it jumps out of the water?
What if food gets stuck to their tail?

Why can’t I hold it?

Do they get thirsty?
When do they sleep?

After the slew of questions, I kindly told her to ask the goldfish and not me. After all, I’m not a goldfish expert. She talked to the fish for a little while to ask them the questions and ended her fishy interrogation by telling them how pretty they were.

“You don’t know very much about your fish,” Trina said very matter-of-factually.

“Not really,” was my soft response. I didn’t see the need to buy and read The Goldfish Owners Guide on the shelf next to the fish food at PetSmart.

Her next question was a little more important.

“Who’s going to take care of your fish when you’re away with your family?”

I paused before answering. Last night I asked Robert if he would be willing to feed them for me. Although he didn’t seem utterly thrilled, he agreed.

“Robert’s going to,” was my response with a smile.

“But is he qualified?” she said in very serious and concerned tone as she glanced at the fish happily swimming around.

I couldn’t think of a response at that point. What qualifies a person to feed two fish a few times a day?

Before I could give an answer, she responded with genuine innocence, “They look hungry. Can they eat some of my chocolate chip cookie?”

After saying no and explaining my answer to her, I felt reassured that Robert was the right guy for this fish-sitting job.