Day #3. The hole in the fence.

So there was a huge windstorm yesterday that blew two planks right out of my parent's fence in their backyard. Ethan thought it was pretty cool--and when I told him to be careful if he went outside because he might blow away, he actually squinted his eyes and studied me to detect whether I was kidding or not.  Ha.

Anyway, my parents have granted permission to the neighborhood kids to cut through their yard as a shortcut, so occasionally I see random teenagers walking into or out of their yard.  Today, while I was at the kitchen sink, there was a shaggy-haired boy, probably about 15, who kept fidgeting with the gate latch, unable to get it open.  I could tell he was getting embarrassed and a little bit flustered.  As he looked up, presumably to see whether he was being mocked, he noticed, to his surprise, the huge hole in the fence, about 20 feet down, from where the wind had knocked the planks out. He looked around for a second, as if to make sure no one was watching (which was hilarious because I could see the whole thing and he had no clue), and then abandoned the gate latch and just slipped right through the hole in the fence and onto wherever he was going.

I'm not sure why that incident made me smile so much, but every time I have thought of it today I just get giggly inside.  Is it because there is humor in the idea that we think other people can't see us even when they can?  Is it just funny to see someone struggle with something simple because I have been in that situation so many times?  Maybe I just love the moment of decision, where he seemed to be determining whether it would be "cheating" to give up on the latch and just take the easy way.  But why mess with an annoying latch when you can just walk through a hole in the fence, right?  I guess I can't explain it.  It's just funny to me.

So there you have it.  A silly little thing I found on my joy hunt today.

Maybe next time I find myself getting flustered over a problem I will think of that kid I saw today and remind myself to step back, LOOK UP, and take a different approach. Maybe there will be a ridiculously simple solution right in front of my face... :)