Son and daughter are in the pool playing Horse with the basketball.  Daughter misses her third shot.

“Ha!  You’ve got an A.”

Daughter snorts at son.  “I don’t have an A.  It’s an R, idiot.”

“You need to go back to first grade,” son sneers self-importantly at daughter.  “Listen closely.  H-O-A-R-S-E.”

Daughter and adults laugh, causing the smile on son’s face to waver.  “What?”

“That’s how you spell hoarse if you’ve throat hurts or something,” someone explains.  “You’re playing HORSE, as in, the animal.”

Son ponders this for a minute, then smiles a bit sheepishly.  “Oh, well,” he says.  “You’re closer to losing then.”

There’s always a bright spot, I guess.  Note to self: make children READ all summer.