Taking A Chance

Penny was whining about school again this morning. I tried to head it off by reminding her that her best school friend, Gillian, is in her class, and if she didn't go to school, she wouldn't see her friend nearly as often.

"When can I have a play date with Gillian?" Penny asked, tacking into the wind.

"I don't know, honey. I have to talk to her mom first. But," I continued, struck with inspiration, "if you can go a whole week without complaining about school, we'll invite her over for a sleepover."

It's a pretty safe bet, on several levels. Penny going a whole week without whining about school isn't terribly likely. And even if she manages it, Gillian is a quiet, shy girl who isn't likely to be a terribly difficult guest.

(Though they say it's the quiet ones who are the most dangerous. Check out this picture I took at the 2nd grade concert last night. Gillian is the girl next to Penny. The one with the smirk. She may be quiet and shy now, but in a few years... Well, we'll see.)

The concert went well, by the way. The kids sang 5 songs, and Alex was well-behaved for all of them (though a trifle squirmy in the fifteen minutes beforehand), and it was all quite adorable. The fake snow at the end, when they were singing "Let It Snow" was a fun surprise.