“Let’s carve something new.”
“Okay, I’ve got this cool idea for a new stabby thing.”
“Something new that isn’t a stabby thing.”
“But I like stabby things!”
“Yeah, I know. Let’s do something different.”
“But … stabby things!”
“No!”
“Well, fine. Let’s carve … a finger!”
“A finger? Haven’t we carved enough fingers?”
“We haven’t made a finger since … well, forever! Before Summer Camp, anyway.”
“Well, okay. We could carve the fork in that mesquite branch. Make it look like a pointing finger.”
“Cool. Or even put a magnet on it. A Fridge Finger!”
“Hahahahahaha.”

After carving several fingers

“Okay, done with fingers for a while. We said we’d carve that dog.”
“A dog? You always want to carve a dog! You think I have a problem with stabby things?”
“But we said we were going to carve it and give it to her.”
“We never told her that!”
“Don’t even go there. We’re carving that dog.”
“Well, okay. But I’m not gonna like it.”
“Tough.”

Some time later

“Man, this is boring. I thought the first rule of carving was to have fun.”
“Just shut up and keep working. We’ll be done with this in a couple of hours.”
“A couple of hours? We’ve already been working on it for a couple of hours.”
“Tough. Let’s just get this done.”
“No! I quit! I will not make another cut on this dang dog! Just … think of something else.”
“You’re right. This whole accountability thing is crazy. How about … a wand!”
“A wand? You mean like a Harry Potter wizard wand?”
“Yeah. We could prune a small branch, shave the bark, shape it …”
“Huh … yeah, okay. A wand sounds cool. Let’s do that.”

After stick acquisition

“Man, this is going to be so cool.”
“Shaving the bark is kind of fun, you know?”
“Sometimes. Other times it’s just tedious!”
“Is this one of the fun times, or the tedious times?”
“I’m having a great time. This wand will really be something.”
“I don’t know. Those curves might be a problem.”
“No way! That’s the best part. The wand will be crooked!”
“A crooked wand?”
“What? You wanted a straight wand? Just like all the others? Boring!”
“But who wants a crooked wand?”
“When did we start caring what other people think about our carvings? I want a crooked wand! I think it’ll look cool. Different.”
“You and your ‘different’. You always want ‘different’.”
“Just shut up and keep having fun.”
“Okay, a crooked wand. Whatever … Can we put a finger on the end?”

We’re trying to decide how to finish it.