Well, you know what they say: everything falls apart after you turn five. My son Jack turned the big 0-5 this weekend. He had a great birthday, complete with a trip to the T-Rex dinosaur-themed restaurant at the Legends. I knew he had a good time when I discovered sand in his shoes after we got home. They have an area where kids can dig for "dinosaur bones" and Jack, along with his best friend, had a great time playing in what is essentially a giant sand box.

However, late on the night of his birthday, he woke up with an ear ache. Most parents are familiar with this - the all-too-common ear infection. Jack has had them before, but this one seemed much more painful. There is no worse feeling that seeing your child in agony. It absolutely broke my heart. At one point, he tearfully said to his five-month-old sister, "Kate, I wish I could play with you, but my ear hurts." As a parent, I just wanted to take on his pain. Anything to make it go away.

Of course, kids rebound amazingly fast. We took him to the doctor the next morning. He gulped down some medicine, took one of the longest naps of his life, and was completely back to normal that night. Wow. If only we older folks could bounce back that quickly. The ear infection was quickly forgotten, and the attention was back to all the birthday gifts he got. Maybe being 5 isn't so bad after all.