{double trouble}

I used to be picky about Dean wasting all the sand in his sandbox by toting and dumping it all around the yard. When he and Eli were playing I actually considered telling them not to take all the sand from the sandbox because then they wouldn't have any left to play with. However, when I realized that dispersing that sand in various locations throughout the backyard had occupied their time for over an hour at that point, I held my tongue. And you know what? They played, contently, for another hour and a half after that until I wrangled them to come in.

I've since decided that they can waste all the sand in the world if it means hours of peace and quiet for me and enjoyment for them. Besides, a bag of sand is only a couple bucks at Walmart. (Speaking of which, whoever said "money can't buy happiness" was wrong.)