Liam was in a particularly good mood this morning. He was about to get the cereal he had asked me to pick up the night before and that alone was enough to start his day off on the right foot. It's 5:00am when he comes to get me out of bed. He then runs to the kitchen and is waiting for me by the island with his trademark grin. Liam's smile is special because most kids by age nine have more of an adult smile - you know what I mean - that slightly reserved, slightly hesitant, slightly grown-up kind of smile but Liam's smile is totally amazing because his whole face lights up in the hugest grin you've ever seen. When he smiles or laughs, he reminds me of a small child who can't hide his delight.

However, he was not expressing quite so much delight a few hours later. I had to drive both he and Jacob to their day camps and had driven about a km down my road when I realized that I had forgotten Liam's pack sack. Not a big deal right? All that was needed was for me to turn around and go back to get the bag right? Wrong, in my world this could mean a whole bunch of trouble. First of all, I was seriously running out of gas and if I initiated a turn around and stalled, well that could make things much, much worse. Liam was quite stressed out by this point and desperately wanted me to turn around. While he wailed, I began to call my husband, all the while trying to reassure Liam between screams that Daddy was bringing his bag to the gas station. So, Liam continues on with his fit, I'm getting myself some gas and Jacob is fielding his onslaught in the van. Karl comes over with the bag, Liam tries to hit him but essentially calms down soon afterward. At this point, several things are going through my mind - why didn't I get gas last night while I was out, why did I have to forget his bag in the doorway when I left that morning and why aren't I more organized in general? For one thing, waiting to the last minute on anything puts me in a difficult position if something should go wrong. Liam doesn't ever handle last minute snags very well. I have to be five steps ahead of the game at all times and that can be trying to say the least. As Liam gets older, I know he will be better able to cope with these hiccups of life but for now they are monumental for everyone concerned. One things for sure, our life sure isn't boring!