Ah, boys

[Aaron's first post! :) ]

I know what you are thinking. Why are you showing us a picture of the hallway? Well, first, a little background. Since we moved, on occasion, our children have all (except Katherine) had moments when they have gotten up at night and wandered the wrong direction when heading to the bathroom. We have many funny family stories about such outings. Here I thought the most recent too good not to share. This picture is taken as Benjamin would see it standing in his doorway. To the right you have the bathroom, the target location. Straight ahead, mama and daddy's room [note the do not disturb sign :) ]. To the left, our cute version of a laundry chute.

We join our nightly drama in the Choate house. The house is dark and quiet, all that can be heard is the thup thup thupping of Katherine getting her last meal of the day. Suddenly, Joanna hears a sound in the hall and asks me to check on the child who is up. (Above the laundry chute is the hall closet where, among other things, the medicine bag is kept. Sarah has had a round of poison ivy lately so it is not uncommon for her to be digging for hydrocortizone cream.) I opens the door to see not Sarah but Benjamin...

I pause here because the next part of the story must be told with care. I see Benjamin holding the laundry chute door up. He is also standing funny. I quickly have the following thoughts: "Oh, it's Benjamin. What a good boy to get up and go to the bathroom! Bathroom, wait...what is that sound. Oh, no he di'unt" (the way some of our students used to say it). At this point I was shocked, in disbelief and really laughing inside. I turned around, closed the door and tried to figure out how to tell Joanna what I just saw.

We are so thankful for our children who provide great, inexpensive entertainment. Joanna started some laundry a little earlier than anticipated, Aaron cleaned a new spot on the carpet, and all got tucked in bed for a good night's rest. Pleasant dreams!