Adventures Are Everywhere

I love the Helen Keller quote: Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all.

One day, my grandson Asher told me he wanted to do something he'd never done before in his entire life. He's only 5, so that list is probably longer than he realizes. He thought hard about what he could do that he had never done before. You could see the little gears turning in his busy brain.

He said this right before he started kindergarten. I think he wanted one last big bang moment before taking that humongous step into that giant school. He wanted something to mark that transition from boy to man, or at least from pre-K to K.

He got his adventure, but it was disguised as a big disappointment at first.

His dad was dropping off his sister, Ainsley, at pre-school and Asher went along for the ride. Suddenly, without any warning, the steering on the car locked and so did the brakes. Luckily, their dad was able to somehow get the car off to the side of the road without anyone getting hurt.

My daughter called me and said they would need a tow and asked if I could give them a ride home. She was at home with River, who is 1.

When I pulled up, Asher and Ainsley were excited about needing a tow. A tow truck is second only to an excavator when you're 5 and under. So the tow truck pulled up and the kids giggled and loved the amazing adventure life gave them on what could have been an ordinary day to school.

Later, when I got to tuck Asher into bed, he talked about the car breaking down and the tow truck. It was the best part of his day. Remember how you wanted an experience you never had before, I reminded him. "That was it."

He nearly jumped out of bed at the realization. His eyes lit up and he giggled himself to sleep at how life handed him just what he had asked for and he didn't have to do a thing but receive it.