In the Flower Beds

A book lover can never be completely without her cherished companion, so when we packed our bag for a morning at the park, I chucked my current dog-eared favorite inside. You just never know when you can catch a paragraph or two.

The boys were sunscreened, snacked, and playing nicely, so I whipped out the book. I read a paragraph... okay, two of them. And after those less-than-two minutes had passed, I looked up to check on my little men. But they weren't there.

Don't panic. I didn't. They were both gone. That can only mean they are together.

Still, I calmly dropped everything to find them. And when I didn't spot them immediately, I picked up my pace. And my heartrate.

That's when I heard snickering - from innocent bystanders. Other moms, older children, all in the know, snickering and pointing with glances in my direction. Glances that said, 'Wait 'til she sees what we see...'

And then I found them.

Naked.

In the course of my two paragraphs, the boys had stripped their clothes and headed to the flowerbed. They were standing with their shorts around their ankles and their t-shirts pulled high. I came running, pulling their clothes on as fast as I could.

I used my loud stage whisper as I whisked their clothes back on. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"We had to poop in the flowers."

They had to poop in the flowers.