The first week after school lets out is always challenging. The little guys are not sure where the boundaries are any more, and like to try to experiment a bit. Yesterday was a day of squabbling… “that’s mine”, “don’t touch that”, “dad! He’s being mean!”

It gets old very quickly. One shining gem of a moment emerged from the mishmash, however. It involved our five year old, who had just been told to stop pestering his younger brother for the third time in less than two minutes. I was listening to this one, so I will relate it just as it echoed up to me…

Momma: “That’s it. Time out!”
C: “No! I’m sorry!”
Momma: “This is the third time I’ve had to ask you the same thing. Time out!”
C: “Noooo! I’m sorry!”
Momma: “I’ve heard that before.”
C: “But this time I mean it!”

Ah, honesty! So refreshing in times of crisis. It didn’t help him, of course, but it sure was refreshing.