Laws of Physics

Tonight I inadvertently proved two of the most common Laws of Physics in less than an hour: the Law of Gravity and the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

The Law of Gravity is one of the most fundamental forces of physics. It states that all objects with mass attract each other, and is responsible for keeping the Earth and the other planets in their orbits around the Sun. Keeping that in mind, this law was proven tonight by my 2-year old daughter.

Ella is in a perpetual state of Mess. In fact, Mess orbits Ella like the Earth orbits the Sun. Kind of like the Peanuts cartoon character Pig Pen. That’s my sweet Princess. Mess gravitates toward Ella. It is a force of nature. As an example, I’ll use tonight’s incidence. We went outside to play. She was running down a hill that I had already checked for ants, sticks, and holes. Somehow, or rather, by the force of Gravity, Ella took a tumble down this steep hill and landed hands first into a warm gooey pile of dog poop. In the words of the great theologian John Mayer,

“Gravity is working against me
And gravity
Wants to bring me down”

The second Law of Physics proven tonight by the Davis household is the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states (in the most basic terminology) that all matter left unattended will always move from a state of order to a state of chaos. As an example, we will refer to tonight’s bathtime. After Ella’s gravitational pull took her spiraling down the hill into dog poop, we headed home for a bath. With both kids in the tub to soak, I figured it’d be okay to answer my ringing phone. I enjoyed talking to my sister-in-law Abbi for a few minutes while the kids played. I stepped into the bedroom so I could escape the echoes of noisy bathroom. When I walked back into the bathroom after I got off the phone, the Second Law of Thermodynamics had reared it’s beastly head: the kids had taken two cups I keep by the tub to use for washing their hair, had filled them up repeatedly, and dumped them over the side of the tub. I suddenly realized that, like Peter, I was walking on water! ALOT of water!

Five towels later I managed to mop up the mess. Needless to say, the bell has rung and class is dismissed…for today.

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