It Could Always Worse!

"Mom, I am changing my motto from ‘suck it up and deal’ to ‘It could always be worse!’" ~Annarose Overshiner, age 7


Last Thursday evening, the kids and I went to a GetAbout meet-and-greet downtown. The forecast for the evening called for rain; it was raining lightly when we arrived around 5:15. By 6:30, it was raining pretty hard. I didn’t want to ride in the dark and rain with the kids, so we headed home.

The temperature was in the high 30s. We had winter coats, but no rain gear. It promised to be a cold wet ride home; at least it was still somewhat light outside. We braced ourselves and set out for home. We had hooped and hollered joyfully as we rode through puddles and standing water in the tunnels on our way to Stewart Road.

As we headed west on Stewart, Annarose was in rare form enjoying herself by making the best of a bad situation.

She called back to me, "Hey Mom!"

"Yes Posie, What’s up?" I asked.

"I decided I am changing my motto from ‘suck it up and deal’ to ‘it could always be worse!’" she called over her shoulder and started laughing.

I laughed along with her and replied "Wow! Posie that’s a great way to look at life when things aren’t going your way!"

"Do you know what I like about riding in the rain, Mom?" she asked.

"I can’t imagine, what?" I asked.

"When it’s raining, it doesn’t matter if I forget to put an ankle biter on, because my pants stick to my legs and don’t get caught in my chain!" she replied with a giggle.

I looked down and saw that her pants were plastered to her legs with rainwater. "Yep Posie, that’s a great observation!" I called with a smile.

"You know what else I like about riding in the rain, Mom?"

"I don't know, Posie. What?" I asked bemused by this silly game that took my mind off of being cold and wet.

"If you pee in your pants no one can tell!" she replied.

"That’s true. You didn’t, did you?" I enquired with a chuckle.

"Of course not! But if I did, it would warm me up. That’d be a good thing too." She called with glee.

"That’s true, Posie. You sure are a smart kid!" I encouraged her.

That was the end of her philosophical musings, so we started singing silly songs and telling jokes the rest of the way home. All in all, it was a really good ride despite the approaching darkness, cold, and wet. It just goes to show... it could always be worse, and with the right attitude ‘worse’ can be quite a lot of fun.