"I Want To Go Outside!"

After searching around the basement looking for them, I said to my four year-old son, "You can go outside and play after you find your shoes. I will then help you put them on."

"I CAN'T FIND THEM!!", he replied.

I glanced up the stairs and caught sight of them on the floor in the kitchen. "They are on the floor in the kitchen by the dishwasher. Go upstairs and get them and then we can go outside."

"I WANT TO GO OUTSIDE!, he replied sitting on the floor next to the door.

"They are your shoes and if you want to go outside you will need to go get them. I will help you put them on and then we can go outside and have fun and play.", I explained.

"NO! I WANT TO GO OUTSIDE NOW!", he responded.

Hearing this defiant reply, I got out the book I was reading and started reading it. My son realized that I wasn't going to budge and remained whining at the door for another five minutes before finally going up the stairs and bringing his shoes to me so that I could help him put them on.

Such antics from a four year-old seem absolutely ridiculous to us grown adults. However, how many times are there in our lives where the light is already green and we are simply too lazy to go ahead an hit the accelerator pedal? As the Alter of Novardok once said, ""Man wants to achieve greatness overnight, and he wants to sleep well that night too."