Reality Check!

Clara and John Michael were both playing outside the other day. Clara was on the driveway and John Michael was playing on the driveway until then a truck drove up to our neighbor's house. So he took off across the front yard. Now even though our whole yard is fenced (chain link fence) and the dogs are always out with the kids, I don't really like the idea of JM standing at the far corner of our property near a truck that had a man standing outside it talking to someone inside (and I didn't recognize the truck or the man . . . but it did turn out to be the meter reader for our water company).

So I started calling to John Michael, telling him not to go so far away. I kept hoping he would listen to me and come back, lose interest in the truck, whatever, because I knew he would pitch a big fit if I went over and carried him back across the yard. So after no luck with my calling to him, I asked Clara to try and call him to see if he would come back for her, and I kept calling to him as well, saying don't go so far away.

Finally, clearly exasperated with me, Clara piped up with "Mom, it's not like he's going to Chicago!"

Thank you dearest for the reality check - what *was* I thinking? And how do you know where Chicago is anyhow?