Like all parents, we continue to fight the battle for politeness. When the kids shout “Water!” we either don’t hear them, or we take the time to give them the third degree until they say “I’m sorry. Could I have some water, please?”

At which point, we tell them to get it themselves.

The other day Momma surprised us all with homemade pancakes. Normally, I’m the breakfast maker, so this was particularly nice for me. I hustled to get the table set and the kids in their seats while she was working at the griddle. We tried to sit patiently while she finished off the cooking.

Finally, she turned around flourishing a plate stacked high with pancakes. “Who wants some pancakes?” She called out cheerfully, bringing them over.

Our three year old threw both hands over his head and shouted “Serve it up!”

Whoops. She stopped dead in her tracks. “What!?!”

At first I laughed, but that died right away – both because of my wife’s expression and because I feared the loss of a hot fresh stack of pancakes.

He looked back and forth between us, apparently confused. “What?” He said. “I just asked for syrup. We forgot the syrup!”

I looked at the table. He was right. We’d forgotten to get the syrup. My wife started to giggle. I looked sideways at the little guy, who was smiling from ear to ear.

Nice save, little guy. Nice save. If you were any older, I wouldn’t believe it. In fact, I still don’t, but I’m willing to give you the pass.