A "Cup Half Full" Kind of Kid

Now that Chase is a green belt, he gets to start sparring (actually hitting other people). He is, of course, THRILLED.
In order to do this, we learned he has to have a $190 set of sparring gear. GREAT. I grudgingly brought him to the TaeKwonDo place to get fitted and pay for his gear. As they pulled everything out of the bag for him to try on, the teenager who was helping him was explaining what everything was for. Finally, I glance up from writing my check as he pulls out the last piece of gear -- a cup. Uh oh. The teenager says something like "OK, and you know what this one's for, right?" and starts to put it back in the bag. Chase says no. Teenager says, "It's a cup." Chase gives him a blank stare. Teenager looks at me for help. I look at my checkbook --for $190, they can explain it. Teenager says, "When you get home, tell your dad you have a cup and you need him to show you what it's for." Way to pass the buck.
Just because I was waiting anxiously for him to spring this on Charles, he waited a while when we got home. Finally, Chase was showing us all of his gear, and he asked Charles what the cup was for. Charles told him that he wore it over his underwear in case someone kicked him. Chase thought about it for a minute, and you could see the lightbulb go off in his head. "Oh," he said, "I get it. It's so if someone kicks me there they won't hurt their foot!" We managed not to laugh in front of him. He's definitely a "cup half full" kind of kid.