A few Saturdays ago, my youngest surprised me by cleaning up the playroom, without ever being asked.

“Wow,” I said. “Great job. Tell you what, why don’t you pick a place for us to go to lunch today?”

He thought about this for a few seconds and then said “Animal Kingdom?”

“No,” I laughed. “And not Disney or Sea World either. Just a restaurant.”

“How about the Rainforest Cafe that’s right next to Animal Kingdom?”

“No,” I said. “It has to be some place closer.”

I left to tell his mom about our upcoming trip out to lunch. She liked the idea, so I went back to see if he’d picked a lunch place yet.

“Okay Daddy,” he said as I came back. He gestured with his hands. “Either the Rainforest Cafe by Animal Kingdom, or the Big Boy in Texas, whichever’s closest.”

I’ll give him credit. He managed to keep his face straight while he got it all out. 

“Whichever’s closest?” I asked.

The smile he was fighting took over his face. “Yeah. Whichever’s closest.”

In case you’re wondering, the answer is no, we didn’t go to Animal Kingdom.