Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives.
Originally posted: Jul 10, 2003, Beth’s age: 5 (almost 6)
We have been thinking about Beth’s birthday present for some time now. Tonight we took action. Cheryl called around to see which stores had the item in stock. After a couple of disappointments we found one that had it. Cheryl took off this evening after dinner to pick it up. When she returned we were both eager to open it up and see what all the fuss was about. Sitting on our bed, gathered around this thing like a couple of thieves admiring their stolen treasure, we opened it up. After dispensing with the requisite “oohs and aahs” we put it away. Just as we were closing the box Beth appears in the doorway with a question. The item was small so it was easily hidden.
“What are you guys doing?”
“We’re wrapping your birthday present.”
“What is it?”
“We’re not going to tell you.”
“Is it a Game Boy?”
“Beth! Just go to the family room and close the door.”
Well, as a general rule I don’t like to lie to the kids… but I wasn’t about to tell her the truth. However, this was one of those times I wondered if Beth was pushing certain buttons on purpose.
We have a rule in our house that we are allowed to lie about presents. If someone guesses rightly, we can obfuscate, lie, cover-up at will!