Pocketful of Sugar

We picked up a trick from our friends to keep our kids in check while we're waiting for the food to come at a restaurant -- which, to a kid, can seem like a really, really long time. We give them a packet of sugar, and they dip their fingers in it like we used to do with Lik-M-Aid. Keeps their blood sugar at a manageable level, doesn't fill them up.

Today I took the boys to Jack in the Box after swimming lessons, and Mikey somehow snagged a packet while I was grabbing straws. Since our food was coming any second, I wouldn't let him eat it. But he kept asking, even after the food came, so I told him to put it in his pocket, and he could take it home for later.

A few minutes later, he was standing on his chair, struggling with his zipper on his shorts. I thought I hadn't pulled it up after swimming lessons, so I said, "Let me help."

"I got it," he said, and moved his hands. The zipper was still down, and it looked like his boxers were showing through. But it wasn't his boxers. It was -- of course -- the sugar packet. "I put it in my pocket," he said. "Not that pocket," I replied.

His shorts have lots of pockets. I guess that seemed the safest one.