My 11-year-old son Jacob has a tendency to get dirty.  Intentionally dirty.  Such as rolling in dirt or sand or any other substance that might require intense cleaning.  This is partnered well with his interest in pouring water on himself.  Such as emptying a water bottle onto his own head or dunking his head in the kiddy pool or any other water related activity that might require intense drying.

Tonight, this dirt tendency came into play.  Watching his brother’s baseball game, Jacob came to sit by me in his mother’s camping chair, while she was away chatting with friends.  So there Jacob was sitting in his mother’s chair rubbing sticks together.  Yep, rubbing sticks together.  Sort of like the method used to start fire, but in this case just to make a mess on himself and the chair.

Looking down at the pulverized bark mess that he was generating, Jacob turned to me and asked, “Mom isn’t going to be happy with this, is she?”  Confirming his fears, I then dug deep into my “Fatherly Advice” file and provided this nugget of wisdom.  “You had better hide the evidence.”  Honest feedback served fresh on a warm summer night.

PS – Don’t write about your mishap and place it on the Internet. That would be a really bad idea.