No Field Trip Fun

One of the worst things that can happen to most children is to be sick the day of a field trip (or holiday party). That's exactly what happened to Teddy Friday. He woke up with a 102.4 fever, so he absolutely wasn't going to school. That meant he missed an all-day field trip, riding his beloved yellow buses, to play soccer, swim and ice skate at the YMCA. As much as I was dreading the physical exertion of chasing him all day as his chaperone, I was looking forward to all the smiles and joy because it was a perfect field trip for Teddy all based around play and not about sitting to learn.

But, the silver lining to the cloud that turned out to be strep throat was that Teddy didn't realize he was missing out on anything because he was too busy living in the moment. He got a whole day with mom to play, destroying our house and dancing to awesome music. (He typically doesn't get the memo that when he's sick he should take it easy, nap and rest. It often barely slows him down, especially when he's medicated with Tylenol and Ibuprofen. And with that fever, you can bet he was on a rotating cycle.)

Such a happy kid, even with strep throat. 

So, although he wasn't feeling the best, he still made the most of his day. That's the great thing about Teddy is that he lives in the moment. It doesn't matter what he's missing because there's usually something great about the exact moment that is happening. Unless you don't give him that banana that he really wants because that is not a good moment. I swear I've never seen anyone look so utterly defeated and wail so loudly that they couldn't eat a second banana.

I challenge you to challenge your inner Ted. Find the joy in your moments today. It's there for you to appreciate ... unless you really wanted that second banana, too, and someone stopped you.

He was enjoying snuggles with Dad today. Or trying to steal the phone.