Forgot to Feed the Fish

I'm a mommy in my late 20s, and while I love nurturing others, there are days when life feels overwhelming. This was one of those days. My little one, who is all grown up but still wants that playful childlike attention from me, needed help with some homework, called for comfort during a scary movie, and had to be put to bed early because he wasn't feeling well. And then there were the fish. I had promised my husband we'd take better care of them after our last vacation, when they got neglectful and skinny. But today, in the chaos of being both mommy and helper, I forgot all about them. I came home late from picking up groceries, which my little one wasn't happy about, saying he wanted to talk about something important but had to wait because of the food run. As soon as we got settled with dinner, he felt sick again and needed a cool cloth on his forehead. By bedtime, I was mentally drained, and it never crossed my mind until this morning. The guilt hit me like a wave when I saw them in their tank, looking smaller than ever, swimming aimlessly around the bottom without much energy. My little one noticed too, as he was getting ready for school. He asked where his 'fish brothers' were and why they looked sad. The look on his face broke my heart. I felt like an awful mommy, even though I knew it was just a simple mistake in a busy day. But the fish needed food too, and I let them down. It's silly to feel so bad about forgetting something so small, but this little lapse is eating at me all over again today.