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On Saturday morning, my girlfriends came over so we could go running. Somehow, we got an amazing, gorgeous day for February in Seattle - sunny and warm.

And my kid, The Boy, was sitting in the living room, in front of the Rock Band drum set, drumming away. There's a reason he's the best drummer in the house.

But on a warm, sunny morning, when Mom and her friends are headed out to get some exercise, it's not time to practice. I said, "Go get dressed and get your helmet on. You're going on a bike ride."

He started to whine. "Well, my legs are tired, and my muscles are sore. I just want to stay home," he said.

My boy? Stay INSIDE on a gorgeous day? Who has he become?

A video game addict, that's who. So I calmly said, "Okay, you can stay home. But no Rock Band until I get back."

Reluctantly, he said, "Okay, I'll come." I smirked.

We headed out, three runners and a boy on a bike. I wanted to throw my arms out and dance - it's been so yucky here in the winter. (Okay, it always is.) I felt amazing, just getting to enjoy the day with my friends and my kid.

But...I live at the top of a hill. It's pretty easy to feel great at the beginning of a run when you're headed downhill. The Boy sailed ahead of us, obviously happy to be on his bike.

Towards the end of the run, though, I could see he was struggling to keep up. "So, uh, how you feeling?" I asked.

Much to my surprise, he said, "Great! You were right, I feel so much better now that I got some exercise!"

I smiled. Yup. Exercise, sunlight, easy company with Mom and her cool friends -  that's the cure for the video game obsessed.

And the next day - another beautiful one - The Boy had his friends over, and didn't touch the video games once. In fact, they were all over the neighborhood - we parents had to chase them down when it was time to eat!

But I'll take that any day over kids bumming around my living room, staring at a screen. We'll leave playing Rock Band all day for the adults.

(Just kidding!)