The Answer to the Unanswered Questions.

To be honest, we find it humorous. We know it's probably crossed your mind, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if you have actually thought something along the lines of, "Gee, they've been married a long time, when are they..." or there's always, "Seth's done with school, you're building a house...you sure seem responsible..." My favorite is, "You don't yet? Well...how long have you been married?" So. To answer that question, I will relate the following event that took place in December of 2005 and maybe then, you will understand, and the questions and assumptions will end.

Soon after Seth and I got married we knew we wanted another little friend in our house. We planned and prepared, and after looking around we brought home the most adorable little fish, Bruiser, the red beta. Although Bruiser was born a he, Seth and I decided that he was a she. Bruiser was a great addition to our family. She endured our no-AC house in the hot Utah summers, and she never complained when we were determined to keep our thermostat set at 62 in the winter. (Hey, if you lived in an old, drafty house you'd do the same). She was doing so good, she loved us. When Seth would come home from swim practice, she would swim to the surface of her bowl to greet him. He would feed her and she would swim around as content as can be. You could not have asked for a better beta. Or so we thought.
As we progressed into December, she became a little less lively, it appeared her health had taken a turn for the worse. I must say the decline was rather sudden. I came home from work one evening, and discovered the tragedy. Bruiser was "sleeping" on her cushiony, yellow, dish scrubber on the bottom of her bowl. Seth arrived home a little after 10pm, and I had to break the bad news to him. Seth was upset. As was I. We had that awkward moment, where it hit us, that we were the responsible guardians of Bruiser. I looked to Seth, and with complete innocence asked, "Well, do we flush her?" The look of torment and shock on his face totally caught me by surprise. "Flush Bruiser!? We do not flush Bruiser!" I looked at Seth. Seth looked at me. And we knew what we needed to do. Seth headed to the garage, and I found a small box.
At 11pm, we trudged outside with heavy hearts, Seth moved the garbage cans aside, so we could find some bare earth amidst the frozen snow drifts. Seth worked tirelessly to dig a small, simple hole in the frozen earth. We placed Bruiser, who was resting peacefully on her yellow scrubber inside a box, into the ground. Seth covered her make-shift casket and I sang Amazing Grace and then we shared a moment of silence. Seth was upset. He reminisced on the moments they had shared, Bruiser was always grateful to see him. It's the simple things that bring him joy, and now she was gone.
A few days later, I mentioned that Christmas was coming, and perhaps we could get a new fish. Seth looked at me, shook his head and said, "It's too soon, Ger, it's just too soon. You can't just replace a fish like Bruiser."

And so, my friends, to answer your questions, that is the reason we haven't gotten a puppy yet.

Rest In Peace, Bruiser, Rest In Peace
May 2005 - December 2005