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Home > Blogs > Adventures in Motherhood > Archives > 2009 > May > 27 > Entry
Mom’s little white lie keeps on growing and growing and growing
I don’t normally lie.
Really, I don’t. First of all, it’s wrong and second of all, I’m really quite bad at it.
It usually goes something like this:
“Think this outfit is OK?” my husband asks.
“Um, well, yes. It looks, um, fine,” I reply as I look down at the floor.
Yep. My husband saw right through me when I told him his “Dork” T-shirt looked just fine with those neon green Nikes and the Levis jeans from 1998 that he picked up wrinkled off the floor that probably haven’t been washed in weeks if not years.
But it didn’t stop him from leaving the house that way.
But I digress.
Lately, I’ve changed my mostly honest ways for one reason: I don’t have the heart to tell my daughter the truth about her beloved pets.
Here’s the story:
Last fall, my husband and I bought our daughter a goldfish to reward her for sleeping in her big-girl bed after years of bedtime battles (too bad it was a shortlived victory, but that’s another blog for another day).
Sophie just loves Princess. She loves to feed Princess. Talk to Princess. Draw pictures for Princess.
Well, anyone who has a goldfish knows the life cycle can be pretty short — months, weeks, even days.
Princess was no exception. I gasped when I walked by the tank one busy morning and noticed my first-born’s first pet was belly up just a few weeks after we brought her home.
I quickly shoved some canisters in front of the tank so Sophie wouldn’t notice and frantically called my husband.
“Code Red. Code Red,” I yelled.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Princess is a goner. What are we going to do? What should I tell Sophie?” I asked.
I just wasn’t prepared to have the death talk with Sophie so soon. No way. I just couldn’t do it.
“I’ll take care of it,” my husband said.
By the time I got home from work, my husband had given Princess a proper burial at sea, and then we did what all good parents do to protect their little ones: LIED.
“Where’s Princess?” Sophie asked.
“She’s at the vet,” Daddy replied.
Whew. She bought it, which bought us some time.
A couple days later, Daddy brought “Princess” home, plus a little surprise.
“Look, Princess had a baby,” my husband told Sophie. You should have seen the look on Sophie’s face. Now she had two pet goldfish to love.
“I’ll name the baby Bluh-Bluh,” Sophie said.
“Princess” and Bluh-Bluh lived happily ever after …
for two days.
Then I discovered Bluh-Bluh lost a fight with the tank’s filter. Gross!
I quickly got rid of Bluh-Bluh, and our little lie continued.
“Where’s Bluh-Bluh?” Sophie asked.
“Daddy took her to the vet for her baby checkup,” I answered without hesitation.
She bought it again. V-I-C-T-O-R-Y.
Bluh-Bluh 2 soon came home, but the homecoming was very shortlived. You see, Princess 2 wasn’t a big fan of sharing the food.
“Mommy, where’s Bluh-Bluh?” Sophie asked. This time she looked really worried.
“She had a cold, so Daddy took her in for a checkup.” The lie just came so naturally. I didn’t even have to think about it.
Given Princess 2’s eating habits, we decided that Bluh-Bluh would have an extended stay at the vet.
The pleasantly plump Princess 2 had a nice long fish life until a few weeks ago. I think you know the drill by now.
This time, I decided I would tell Sophie the truth when she asked about her pet fish, but when I opened my mouth, all I could say was: “She’s back at the vet.”
Bad, bad Mommy.
And Princess 3 and Bluh-Bluh 3 lasted only two weeks before we discovered them in an eternal slumber last week.
This time, my husband and I vowed to have the “Princess and Bluh-Bluh went to fishy heaven” talk. I even rehearsed what I’d say several times.
But when Sophie asked about her missing fish, you’ll never guess what came out of my mouth.
Yep. The little white lie continues…
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Moms, now it’s your turn to fess up. What’s the worst lie you’ve told your children (or anyone for that matter)? Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me — the Queen of the Liars.
How do you talk to your young children about death?
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Just saw this blog post today from Jenny at Mommin’ It Up (a local blog I just love!). Apparently I’m not alone in, well, stretching the truth a bit. Check out what Jenny is telling her son about their aging cat.
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There is a movement across the country for parents to ease up on themselves and admit and even laugh at their ‘bad parenting’ moments.
There’s a book out about it and Web site devoted to the admissions. Who’s willing to share their ‘bad’ moments?
The Web site has 1.8 million viewers and includes admissions about allowing a toddler to watch as much as six hours of TV a day. Another admits to hating her daughter’s friend, who is 3 years old.
Yours don’t seem so bad now, do they?
Willing to share? Please send an email to kmargolis@coxohio.com
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Mommy confessions
Comments
By DTank
May 31, 2009 10:36 PM | Link to this
This story is absolutely frickin hilarious!
By nikki
May 28, 2009 12:14 PM | Link to this
i dont think this is a bad thing.. its kinda like telling your kids there is a santa claus.. you are just protecting her innocense.. one day it will be right to tell her the truth but for now let her enjoy “princess” and have no worries about her fishy dying. Let her enjoy being a little kid :)
By Truth seeker
May 28, 2009 6:55 AM | Link to this
While you may not be very good at lying, it seems like your husband is very good at it!