One Fish, Two Fish, DEAD Fish, Blue Fish

The boys have been working hard.  In an attempt to help our morning routines switch from total chaos to structured productivity resulting in arriving at the bus stop on time and without tears, I started a simple reward system.   Now the boys are given weekly chore charts and when they have completed all their jobs, marking them off with stickers as they go, they are rewarded with fifty cents.
Yes, fifty cents is a pathetically small amount even for my young boys, but I don't like the idea of paying them for doing simple jobs that are a part of every day life.  But I also don't like the idea of giving them an allowance because then they get something for nothing.  I decided a very small payment for jobs well done was a fair compromise.
So the boys have been working (a little) and saving (a little) and somehow they decided it would be a great idea to buy some gold fish.  Marcus bought three, Ethan bought two, and I pitched in a couple bucks for food.  The boys were so excited to have their first pets.  They even called my Dad to tell him their exciting news.  We got the fish home, dumped them into a large vase full of water, and named them. (I should have recognized this as the first sign of attachment.)
The next morning, Bean got up to check on his fish and noticed one had died during the night.  He instantly broke into sobs as he hugged me telling me how much he loved "Annakin."
"Oh great," I thought.  I hadn't anticipated any emotional attachment to some little gold fish with the average life span of a day.  I tried to console my son.
"It's ok.  Fish don't live long.  Remember how you saw all those dead fish in the tank at the store?  That's because fish die.  It's not a big deal.  You can help me flush Annakin down the toilet," I said soothingly.
Bean only sobbed harder.
Then I reminded him his angel grandma and angel Aunt Linz would take care of his fish in heaven, to which he responded, "Will Annakin come back to life too?"
Ugh.  This was no time for a lesson on the resurrection over a stupid dead fish and Bean was about to be late for school.
I quickly replied, "Sure.  Now hurry up and get ready for school."

Pet fish are a very bad idea.  We have two left and if you ask me, they can't die soon enough.