Questions of the Universe

Have you ever been consumed by an unanswered question. Questions about physics, pyscology, the universe or maybe you've always wondered how much chocolate syrup it would take to cover the kitchen floor. Well we deal with these inspiring questions on a regular basis. And luckily I'm surrounded by little Einstiens who are not only capable of thinking up such awe inspiring ingenious questions of the universe but they are willing and able even compelled to find the answers. This particular one occured on a Sunday morning. Cameron was gone from 9am to noon as usual with his many auxillary meetings. While it happened to be my Sunday to teach. I teach every third Sunday of the month at our church. I missed my shower before Cameron headed out for his meetings so I had to slip one in while things were calm or at least seemed as such. Upon my resurfacing from the shower I came to find that the boys had decided that they needed to know how much scotch tape it would take to cover the sofa downstairs. And they did, they found out. It took the entire roll. And they also found out how long it takes to clean up.

A short while later I put Isaac down for his nap and it being 'calm' I thought to myself, I'll just go over my lesson while things are quiet. Things remained quiet as I skimmed through and made final notes. That should have set off an alarm right there, but by this time I was on a roll and was determined to get through my reviewing. I heard Cameron pull up and then heard frantic footsteps coming up the stairs. Now, the alarm set off. They were not rushing out the door to greet their dad with open arms they were running up the stairs. I quickly put my notes and books down and met my oldest on the stairway. In his hand was a bottle of Hershey Chocolate Syrup. I froze not wanting to know what awaited me down around the corner. Cameron came in with a smile for everyone smelling the chocolate he thought I had been baking. Sorry, honey not this time. His smile faded as he laid eyes on the kitchen and I knew then there was trouble. Apparently the forces of the universe had once again been tugging at the boys ingeniousness and they were over come with the desire to know how much chocolate syrup it would take to cover the kitchen floor. And without hesitation they set out to find the answer. They had used the entire bottle which was brand new.

How do I know this was a quest for knowledge. Well for several reasons. The fact that the chocolate actually stopped at the end of the kitchen floor. It was up to the very edge of the carpet, but very methodically it never went beyond the hardwood floor. The fact that they left evidence of their first intentions of simply trying to make chocolate milk for themselves. Opened sippy cups on the floor. I can just picture them hunched over with the chocolate barely dripping out when they wondered to each other just how much chocolate is in this bottle and then proceded to experiment with the science of liquids and measurements. The fact that even though at first glance it looked as though they had skated through the carefully squirted strands of syrup upon further noticement I realized that there was not one drop of chocolate on their socks or anywhere on them for that matter, not to mention there were no chocolatey footprints. This along with a few napkins wadded up in the middle of the floor covered in chocolate, Trying to clean up after discovering their answer. And the final fact that instead of running for cover knowing they had done something wrong they ran to me in order to plead their case. This indeed was an act of science.

Well, they were required to clean it up. And I in my dress already was tiptoeing around trying to figure out where to start. Cameron supervising the boys and I with a cloud over my head not needing this this morning. In my logical thinking I thought I'll just use a rag and water to clean it up, no soap. Soap will leave a residue and I'm going to mop it after the chocolate is wiped up anyways. Cameron in his logical thinking thought that you always use soap to clean up any mess and proceeded to ask, 'aren't you going to use soap'. or something to that effect. Not the thing to ask me at that moment. I lost what little control I had and snatched up the dish soap and then squirted a long streak of soap in what I thought was a rather artistic pattern if I do say so myself. However, in my deliberate act of frustration I managed to squirt the dish soap across his nice new and stylish black dress shoes and up the pant leg of his suit. Needless to say I stopped right there and quickly regained control avoiding the urge to burst out into laughter (mostly to relieve the tension of course). The boys frozen watching the events, Cameron not knowing what to do and I waiting for the worst. Which wouldn't be all that bad from my wonderfully loving and understanding husband. He quietly and calmly sent me to my room. I declined, needing to work out my frustration by scrubbing the floor. There we all were hunkered over with cleaning rags wiping and scrubbing. And I did have a whole lot of soap residue to mop up, but that was my fault. Later he informed me of what the boys punishment was and I quietly asked with a small smile 'and what is mine'. In return he replied with a little smirk 'I'm not sure yet.'

So there you have it, the all consuming questions of the universe and the process of how they come about and how they are answered. Not to mention how they effect us all. :)