Kids.

Something about kids is always mind boggling to me. They start out not really saying too much, they learn to talk, and the rest is history. I noticed it the other day with our 7 year old. She is a very sweet girl, but now as she is a 1st grader it's okay to say "No." Not your average "No" like when they are toddlers, but the kind of "No" when you expect them to do what you are asking. I should know this by now, but sometimes you just hope there will be a miracle in the works. I never learn.

But there's hope.

It must have been about a year ago, but we were out with our kids at a restaurant called "Portillo's." If you live in the Chicago area you know it is a hot dog place. But it is good. Really good. We sat down and watched a family come into the restaurant. It was obvious they were a family because they all kind of looked alike. The odd part was there were 13 kids. Yes, 13 of them. Everyone was well behaved. I thought I was on Candid Camera or Punked, but I was wrong they were just there to eat. We spoke with them, and it turns out they were from out of town; I want to say Missouri. They had driven in a bus to get to Chicago...when you have 15 people in your family I suspect a Prius is out of the question.

What really was impressive was, of course, how well behaved they were---but also how going to a place like Portillo's was a real treat. You could tell by the smiles on their faces. Their Dad was a doctor, but I suspect he was a small town physician; we're not talking LA plastic surgeon here. For them, going out to dinner is something they probably do not do as often as a family of 4 might do. I would have to imagine they spent well over $125 for dinner. That's a lot of money for hot dogs and fries. However, with the way the kids were appreciating their dinners you would have thought they were eating caviar.

The picture above reinforces that whether it's a tiger or a child, giving Mom or Dad an earful is the norm. In this case it was Mom. However, she seems completely unfazed by it all. The sad part about this photo is the little tiger who is mouthing off must have done the same to his Dad in the area adjacent to the pen. Dad did not appreciate it and he killed the cub. The zoo was in shock for some time and someone or some people lost their jobs over this mistake. Apparently the male tiger is not friendly around the little ones---a very sad ending as these cubs were just beautiful.

Life is funny. So are kids. Appreciate them because before you know it they will be writing blogs like this about their kids. (Your grandkids.)

Thanks for stopping by.