The Lobster Goes "Night-Night"

We love to get live Lobster and cook them around our house, but usually we do it when we are entertaining or doing something special, and Wyatt is in bed so that we can be uninterrupted. This time was a little different, however. Tommy and Wyatt went to the store a couple weeks ago and Wyatt saw the lobster in the tank. Tommy told him the lobster were getting a bath, but Wyatt was worried about them so Tommy decided to buy some. When he got them home, he went to put them in the refrigerator, but all Wyatt could talk about were the Lobster! Lobster this, Lobster that all night long. Very concerned about the lobster. He checked on them frequently that night and also in the morning.

The next night I got home from work and the lobster were out on the kitchen floor on some newspaper, alive and well. Apparently Wyatt was still very concerned about the lobster and insisted that Tommy take them out of the refrigerator. Wyatt was having fun messing around with them, oohing and ahhing and squealing when they would move around. But Tommy had other plans for the lobster. He had a big pot of water on the stove boiling. I told him we should wait until Wyatt went to bed, but Tommy was 'starving' so he wanted to eat.

Tommy picked up the lobsters and moved toward the pot, and Wyatt's eyes got very big. "Uh oh! HOT! HOT, Mommy, HOT!" I picked Wyatt up and Tommy explained that the lobster were going to go in the bath. Wyatt said, "Bath HOT Mommy! Noooooo! Ouchie! HOT!" But in went the lobster. We reassured him that the lobster were okay, and that they were just swimming. He seemed to accept that... until we took the lobster out, and they were very, very red, much different than the black color they were before they had been steamed.

Wyatt took one look at them, realized they weren't moving, and in the saddest, most heart broken voice you can imagine said, "Oh, no....Lobster night-night..." "Yes, buddy," said Tommy, "They're definitely night-night."

If we could have left it at that, we might have been okay, but instead they went on our plates and we began eating our salads. Wyatt was confused about the lobster being on the plates, but didn't say anything until I ripped one of the legs off mine. "Uh oh! Uh oh! Oh no!," he said, squiriming, trying to get out of his seat. I tried to tell him it was okay, but it definitely was not okay with him.

For once, I was without words to try to explain to him what was going on or make it okay. I imagine it was the equivalent of someone coming into my house and throwing one of my cats into the pot of boiling water and eating them. Would I have been upset? Obviously. So, note to self: do not let child claim any animal as a pet that which you intend to eat later. Lesson learned.