So, this is one of those stories that you probably needed to witness to find the humor in it, but let me set the stage anyway.

One of my pet peeves are things sliding around the car when I am driving…It makes me crazy.  I have to make sure everything is secure in the trunk or even a baseball rolling around back there will slowly drive me insane.  If there is a bottle of water on the floor, rolling around, my head will explode.

Over the course of the week, the kid’s infinite number of drawings and scrap paper from daycare/school pile up between their seats in the car.  I have to wait until they aren’t looking to throw them away, otherwise, they get upset.  So, by Friday, it is a pretty big pile.  In addition, today, as part of a school project, Benjamin had a bucket of toys sitting on top of the pile.

This morning, after we hung up with mommy in Switzerland, Benjamin became really sad and he moped in the car…Now mind you, Benjamin is the very definition of a morning person…He is absolutely full of life before 8 AM.  If he is sad in the morning, it just brings me down (not a long trip for me at that time of day), as well.  So, he was just staring out the window after telling me he was thinking about mommy.

So, stage is set.

As I came up to a stop sign, I had misjudged the distance and had to suddenly stop sharply.  This sent everything on the seat flying onto the floor.  As I heard the pile of papers spread themselves out on the floor and the bucket of toys rattle around, I could feel the pure irritation shooting up my spine.  Just as I was hitting the peak, I hear Matthew, after observing the mess, yell, “NICE!”

Benjamin and I both started laughing uncontrollably, and I almost had to pull over.  For the rest of the way into school, Ben was his normal morning self…and then some, thanks to Matthew’s perfect timing.

(I actually thought he had said “NUTS!” at first, but “NICE” seemed equally funny.)