My Thoughts

It was a seemingly average day at the bus stop. I was there with the dog.  My girls hopped off the bus.  And, we engaged in typical conversation—or at least I thought.

“Anything exciting happen at school today?” I asked. “Did you learn anything interesting?”

My oldest daughter (8) instantly flew into a rampage about a book she was reading. Mid-sentence she began telling me about how a classmate got in trouble, and then imediately transitioned into how excited she was for softball practice, an upcoming playdate, and a billion other things, of which, I admittedly lost track of.

But, my youngest daughter (5) remained silent.  Her eyes focused on the road as she walked, which was typical of her.  

“How about you sweetie?” I asked.  ”Did anyting cool happen in your class today?”

She paused.  And, I assumed she would we give me her standard answer of, “Nothing special.” To which I would typically reply with something snarky like “You spent all day in school and didn’t learn anything interesting?”  But, that didn’t happen.

“Well, something kinda interesting happened,” she replied. “I thought I was getting in trouble.”

“What for?”

“The teacher asked me why I was going to the bathroom so much,” she replied.  ”But, I wasn’t going to the bathroom.”

“What were you doing?” I asked.

“I didn’t want to toot on the class rug,” she said. “So I would just go outside the room to toot.  And, after I told the teacher, she let me go as much as I wanted.”

This is why I’m proud. My daughter has already learned a golden rule that will benefit her throughout life—passing gas in the middle of the room benefits no one.