My oldest son had his (much delayed) 11th birthday party this past weekend. We held it at the outdoor laser tag place just outside the Sanford Zoo. That was our first time there, so we didn’t know what to expect, but it turned out great.

Before the briefing, they set up the kids (all twelve of them) with camouflage hats, realistic laser guns, and military style face paint.

Once the briefing was over, the facilitator pointed to the birthday boy. “Time to pick squads. Want to be Alpha or Bravo?”

“Alpha?” my son answered.

“Okay. Pick the captain of Bravo team.”

My son looked at him, not sure what he meant.

“Pick the one you want to shoot.” he explained.

The birthday boy grinned and, without a second’s hesitation,  called out his brother’s name.

I guess I probably could have seen that one coming.