Every summer, my family spends a couple of weeks in Bear Lake. It's lovely and peaceful up here and in the past we've spent most of our time sitting on the beach reading while the kids play in the sand. My goal is always one book per day, and I usually do pretty well. But the kids are a little older, now, and they actually want to do stuff.
My middle boy is a tough one to understand. He struggles with anxiety and everything scares him, but strangely he loves roller coasters and things that go fast. And lately he loves going in the boat. He sits in the bow and screams for the boat to go faster and faster.
The other day he was riding with my brother-in-law, screaming for more speed, when he witnessed him look around, lean forward and spit right into the wind. I don't know what he thought would happen, but I guess kids do stupid things to learn lessons. And sure enough, that blob of spit splatted right back on his ear, trailing glistening streamers behind it.
He didn't say a word, just quietly tried to clean it up and then went right on enjoying the ride. My BIL laughed quietly, and was grateful that the spit didn't make it past my son's head and find him, or the windshield of the boat.
I'm glad my son had had a fun week. And I'm glad he's conquering his fearsand trying new things. And I'm glad he's literally learning life's valuable lessons, like how spitting in the wind is never a good idea.
