Last week we had a little problem getting Beth ready in the morning. Gaping, bleeding wounds will do that to you. She was feeling playful and decided to hide under her bed after we asked her to get dressed. Unfortunately, she caught her leg on something sharp and we wound up in the ER rather than the rec center (for summer camp).

“Dad, were you angry with me when I cut my leg?”

“No Beth, I’m not angry with you. I was angry when you didn’t listen this morning, but I wasn’t angry that you cut your leg, I was just worried.”

“Dad, I wish I could go back in time and get dressed instead of hiding under the bed, then I’d be at camp right now.”

“That’s true Beth, but it will be o.k. Sometimes we all learn lessons the hard way. Even your mom and dad.”

“So listening and getting ready this morning would have been the easy way?”

“I think so.”

Beth thinks about this for a few moments, before asking a question.

“Dad, what would be the medium way?”

And so it has begun. It warms my heart to see that Beth finally has a sibling to blame things on.

Herding three kids on a sugared high at the local McDonald’s “Play Place”, exhausting. Going to Busch Gardens for the afternoon, don’t even ask. Making an impromptu trip to Starbucks with your family then walking the mall with caffeine coursing through your veins, by far the best bang for your hard earned buck.

Sometimes the best of times can be had with the simplest pleasures.