Our gnarled old apple tree yielded a bumper crop of apples this year. Unfortunately, this tree is so overgrown, that even with a ladder, Hannah and I collected just a few dozen apples; most were entirely too high to reach.

Hannah protested as I balanced on the top rung of the ladder trying to reach the tip of a branch so I could shake the apples free. She kept insisting that I would fall. I insisted that I would be fine if she’d just hold the ladder steady.

I know, I didn’t set a great example for her. However, the exercise did confirm for me that Hannah has been graced with a good dose of common sense.