best near-disaster so far today

so i'm being lazy, still in my PJs, in my bed, at 10 am. my kids are kind of roaming the house looking for things to do. suddenly reed and max walk into my room, reed holding a bowl of an unidentified dark liquid, filled almost to the brim.

"what is that?!" i say, trying and failing to keep my voice in check.

"syrup," says max, with a shrug.

"syrup?"

"yeah," he sounds almost bored, as if it should be obvious why his 2-year-old brother should be wandering the house with a bowl full of syrup.

i sprint to the kitchen, expecting every surface covered in maple syrup.

but i am delighted to find that the mess is confined to one small section of counter top, and that most of the spill accompanying the pour from the syrup jar to the bowl is sopped up by a paper towel. all i have to do is un-sticky the handle of the stool pushed up against the counter, and finish wiping up what's left of the puddle.

sometimes my kids surprise me.