Honey Bunches of Mess

Declan made it through his first week of fourth grade recently and our daily schedule is beginning to settle down after a whirlwind of a summer. He is as much a joy to be around as ever and continues to find new ways set morning-madness standards.

Earlier this week he spilled his cereal in what I believe was a mad rush to sneak in some early morning YouTube viewing. This would not normally be a conversation worthy occurrence, however, he found a way to empty an entire, nearly full, box of Honey Bunches of Oats onto the kitchen floor. Fitting his reputation as a master-builder of mealtime disasters, it was a jumbo sized cereal box to boot.

As I dressed he approached with an all-too-familiar look on his face, keeping his gaze to the floor like an old dog that knew he was in trouble for a recent misdeed.

"I'm sorry Dad but I spilled my cereal," he muttered.

I was slightly confused by the severity of his sadness, especially considering I complain to him almost daily about the breakfast mess he leaves behind, but assumed it was the result of a previous spill. The morning prior he had ate his cereal at our computer desk and was subsequently banned for life from that eating locale.

"OK. Like I said yesterday buddy, it's not that you spilled it's that you didn't even try to clean up the mess. Go clean it up," I replied.

Declan turned and made his way downstairs towards the kitchen. I knew something wasn't quite right based on his demeanor, so I followed. I was shocked when I walked into the kitchen.

"Declan! What the heck man!" I exclaimed upon seeing the mess.

Corn flakes were everywhere and Declan had no answers as to how the entire box had been emptied unintentionally.

"I just grabbed it wrong," was the only answer he could muster as he attempted to pick the flakes up one-by-one.

As much as I wanted him to clean up his own mess I knew there was no way he would make it to school on time if I went that route, so I joined in. I eventually concluded he must have been in scramble mode when he grabbed the box, likely hurrying to get his cereal in place as I showered. Which led me to the unauthorized YouTube viewing theory, although I was unable to coerce a confession from my little offender.

Declan was noticeably relieved when I began assisting on the cleanup and I think a little surprised I wasn't more upset with him. He caught me grinning as I unloaded the dustpan a final time.

"How in the world did you dump the entire box," I said comically in response to his curious gaze. He chuckled, shook his head, and said he had no idea.

In exchange for my lighthearted approach to the cleanup he ate an entire bowl of oatmeal without complaining, a first in our house.

What he didn't know was that I was grinning over a mental commitment I made to myself immediately after seeing the mess. I would no longer feel guilty for telling him the two mornings prior the tooth fairy didn't forget him, she was just busy in other parts of the world. A tall-tale I concocted after repeatedly forgetting to pull cash from my bank account.