Dad usually woke up early and left for work before the rest of the house was fully awake, but this morning was different. He had taken the day off so he could spend more time with Jobi, hoping they could enjoy a calm and peaceful day together. Jobi, however, had a very different idea of what “peaceful” meant.
It all started when Jobi decided to play with the garden hose. Mom had asked him not to touch it because the ground was still muddy from last night’s rain. But Jobi, full of curiosity and energy, turned the tap on anyway. Water sprayed everywhere—on the grass, the walls, the windows, even on the freshly washed laundry hanging outside. By the time Dad stepped into the backyard, the place looked like a tiny lake and Jobi was drenched from head to toe.
“Jobi!” Dad shouted, his voice louder than Jobi had ever heard it. “What did you do?”
Jobi froze. He hadn’t meant to cause trouble. He just wanted to see how far the hose could spray. But Dad didn’t look excited about the experiment. He looked upset—really upset. His eyebrows were drawn together, his hands were on his hips, and his shoes were getting soaked as he stepped toward the puddles.
“That was naughty,” Dad said firmly. “You didn’t listen. You made a huge mess.”
Jobi’s shoulders dropped. He hated disappointing Dad more than anything. He wished he could rewind the morning and do it differently. He lowered the hose and looked at the muddy ground. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Dad took a deep breath. The anger in his face softened a little. “Jobi, I know you didn’t mean to be bad,” he said. “But when you don’t listen, things get ruined. It’s important to follow rules.”
Jobi nodded, his eyes wide with guilt.
“Come on,” Dad finally said, handing him a small bucket. “If you help clean up, maybe we can still make today a good day.”
So together, Dad and Jobi cleaned the backyard. Jobi worked hard, determined to show he could behave. And slowly, Dad started to smile again.
By the afternoon, the anger had faded, replaced with laughter as they played a board game inside. Jobi realized that even when Dad got angry, he still loved him—and that being good made the day much better for both of them.
