One of my kids, Adam, is playing a game on one of our many TV sets. It's a game about some pony who flies through rivers and whatever. Yes, THAT'S what makes my house even more crowded than it should be. We bought so many TV sets. We have 5 in all! Anyway, it's 7:30 at night so I go in the little kid's room and tell him it's a school night and that it really IS time to go to bed. Promptly he refuses to follow my instructions; in fact he barely does follow them until we get to 7:40 at night and he finally surrenders to me.
7:30 - I call out, ''Adam, time for bed. Adam? Adam?''
7:35 - I call out, ''Adam, come on, it's a school night. That little river-jumping pony can sit on her tuchus until tomorrow. Meanwhile all YOU need to do is get to be well-rested like the other kids that I put to bed already.''
7:40 - After a few unneeded minutes of shouting off the top of my lungs, Adam pathetically sighs, says ''Whatever, dad'', and shuts the console off. By this point all the kiddies had their bath, brushed their teeth, and were put in bed. Except for Adam, so all I have to do is make him do all that.
At school the next day, Adam and some of his little friends sit down and have a talk with each other.
Adam says, ''Guess what my dad is doing this Thursday night?''
One of his friends, an Italian unicorn named Ricky, says ''What is it?''
Adam says, ''He's taking me to see Countess Coloratura LIVE IN CONCERT!!!''
Another of his friends, a Latin pegasus named Deanna, says, ''Really? Countess Coloratura? Ah, what a pony!''
Adam says, ''Yeah, yeah, yeah, but that isn't all. For you see, it's taking place right across the street from this school, at the Grand Palace.''
Deanna is like, ''YAY! SHE'S SINGING IN A GRAND PALACE!''
Adam says, ''Me and 3 other of my daddy's kids is coming along with four adults, including my daddy.''
Deanna says, ''That's lovely! You all get to see Countess Coloratura in all her magical glory! Ah, yes! She has a beautiful voice!''
Adam says, ''Yeah, yeah, yeah.''
Bell rings and it's time for them all to re-enter class. The kids are now firmly seated and now, all the other ones with the idea of Countess Coloratura singing live in concert implanted in their little heads, write all about THAT instead of what they are supposed to be writing about, something on the EBC about the Bermuda Triangle, which all MY kids write about. Unsurprisingly, most of the other students got an F for their ''essays'' on the Bermuda Triangle, which either involved Countess Coloratura performing in that Triangle (which she technically shouldn't because it's too dangerous) or performing in another venue. Poor Adam should've realized that he and my other kids are in a class full of easily distracted students; alas, he didn't and this is the result. He and my other kids did better on their studies about the Bermuda Triangle than the other kids, all because they wrote about Countess Coloratura in and out of the Bermuda Triangle in one way or the other.