The Teachings of the Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich

Ah, fatherhood. Before we had a child, I envisioned myself surrounded by my attentive and enchanted children, who were waiting anxiously for me to dispense the next gem of a teaching from my tomes of knowledge and wisdom.

I was so naive.

While Jade sometimes lets me teach about the world around her, it seems that she's more interested in teaching me a thing or two, like the proper way to eat a peanut butter and jam sandwich.

Here she is, on a recent canoe trip, giving me step-by-step instructions:

Step 1: Pick up one half of the PB&J sandwich.

Step 2: Begin licking the jam off the sandwich.

Step 3: Get right in there and lick that jam. Don't lick too hard or the toast might break. Remember to breathe.

Step 4: Follow through.

To be honest, I can figure out how to lick a peanut butter and jam sandwich on my own, but it's highly unlikely that I would have thought to lick it in the first place, so maybe the real lesson from Jade is:

Don't get caught up in the mundane or the disappointing. Focus on the goodness in everything.

After all, that's exactly what Jade does. I think that, all too often, we adults forget that.

"You learn quickly, Grasshopper."