the bigger the snack, the harder the fall

The most vivid lie I remember ever telling my parents was about me and a Rubik's cube. I sat in a swivelled chair, facing the corner, peeling colored stickers off and placing them back in right color order. I ran to my mom shouting that I 'did it myself!'. Though it was probably so obvious to my parents; the nail scratches, the corners pushed up, I thought at four years old, I'd gotten away with it.

I thought 'my parents officially know I am a genius.'

It took me over a week to finally admit to lying to them. (Or at least it felt like a week, I was 4 for goodness sakes, details are fuzzy.)

But yes, I was one stubborn genius child (a trait that my husband would say has only gotten stronger with age).

::

So, Wyatt sat in his seat from preschool going on and on about 'how hungry he was'. He then paused and started to tell me about how he didn't get a snack. Then he decided that wasn't enough, but that the whole school didn't get a snack.

He tells me "No one got a snack today, Mom. No one! No one in my classroom, no one in any of the classrooms!" He motions along with this like it's the end of the world.

I thought it was pretty strange, I mean, I pay $180 a month for a snack to be included, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. "Really?" I replied. "Don't you guys usually have a snack? Did you run out of time?

It was like I was his pawn... "Yes!" he shouted, "we ran out of time!".

"You must be starving then, I'll fix lunch as fast as I can." I respond.

I think I could physically see him deflate from the backseat.

Unknown to me, his plan for a snack before lunch didn't work. He reacted badly to this news. He started to get mad at stuff that well, usually makes him mad.

"My shirt is all wet (sobbing), I HATE my shirt! Why did you pick out this shirt for me?"

I snapped, "don't say hate and why in the world is your shirt all wet?"

"I spilled all my water," Wyatt whined back.

"Well, when did you have water?" I asked.

"At snack time"... that sort of tapers off to not being audible.

busted

Turns out it was even a huge snack, with granola bars, string cheese and water, which sort of makes me even a little bit more mad. The bigger the snack, the harder the fall.

So, Wyatt sat on the step in a time out as I made lunch. As he climbed the stairs after the timer went off, I then told him the story of my lie of pulling off the stickers of the Rubik's cube.

And when I finished, when I hoped for this big ah-ha moment from Wyatt, all he wanted to know 'why in the world would I have told the truth?'

Apparently, getting away with a lie would have been way more impressive to the storyline.