If you have been reading these tales for a while, you may have noticed that when my wife is busy on a Saturday or Sunday I almost always take the boys out for an adventure. These adventures can be anything from a Disney park to a trip to the local park.

The reason for this is simple. When she started working weekends, I was not a very creative parent. I found myself faced with spending a Saturday trying to manage a bored two year old – or I could spirit him away to Disney. Tough choice, right?

Soon, a bit of a tradition had formed. Now when J is busy, it’s Adventure Time. Before you get outraged with me, please be aware that we have family adventures just as often as we have daddy-only adventures. It’s a question of percentages, though. When Mom is around, we head for an adventure maybe one day out of 7 (i.e., on Saturday). When she’s not around, we head for an adventure at least 8 times out of 10.

Perception is what matters to little ones, however.

The other day we were kicking around the house playing make believe. The boys were pretending to be parents and they wanted me to pretend that I was the little boy. They were planning a pretend trip to Disney.

My wife decided to join in. “What can I play?”

N looked at her, consideringly for a moment, and then took her hand and started guiding her to the bedroom. “How about you go to bed and sleep.”

Ouch.