Death of a Blackberry

My Blackberry is full of gatorade. Ya. Elaina (6) drenched my new Blackberry in orange citrus gatorade. I don't even drink gatorade. Yet, gatorade has stalled my social life for well...I'm not sure how long, still trying to figure it out. BUT, I have decided to look on the bright side of these instances and I believe that Elaina may have actually saved a life. Here's the thing. The other day I found myself texting while driving. ONLY AT STOPLIGHTS, but still. I know, horrible. So, if my blackberry was usable today, maybe I would have been texting while driving and killed someone. Perhaps this gatorade incident is just one tiny example of this "challenge that saved a life" phenomenon. I mean we have these predisposed expectations of our kids; an "A" student, a stand-out athlete, a "cool" disposition. But what we get is so often different than what we expect, and we think, "Man, this is hard! Why isn't my kid faster, smarter, have more friends?" But what we forget to look at is that maybe if my kid was the best athlete, I as a parent wouldn't have learned to be a very good, understanding, coach. Maybe if my kid was the smartest in class, I as a parent wouldn't have learned a lick of patience. (side note: teaching some children to tell time can require more patience than many parents can muster) If my kid was the most popular child in his class, maybe I as a parent would have overlooked another boy in class that could use a birthday invitation. I believe something good must come from something difficult. Hey! Jesus actually taught us this...If he hadn't died on the cross, we would all have to go to hell. Ok, I'm really not comparing my Blackberry loss to Jesus' death on the cross, I'm just saying it reminded me of an important lesson, and I'm going to try to keep this lesson in mind an often as I can. also i dont want to forget: -Charlie (22 months) learned he has pockets today. He's been picking up change all over the house (we are a family of droppers) and has been putting it in his pocket and saying, "where'd it go?" and then pulls it out and says, "hewe it is!" -Elaina and Pete are off to a Father/Daughter dance tonight, and Elaina is soooooo excited and asked her dad if she could dance by "standing on your feet." She also announced that she is "taking daddy out for Mexican." -Jack (9) ran his first track meet today and was more excited by the mound of dirt he and his friend piled up on the sidelines than he was by winning the 400m relay. -Scotty (11) is making us dinner tonight - Scrambled eggs, cream of wheat. -When I asked Ben what he wanted to be when he grows up, he said, "healthy food and exercise." I think he misunderstood the question, but I liked his plan, so I didn't correct him.