SECRETS & SURPRISES

Thirty-five years ago or so, I learned that small children don't keep secrets well. I recently discovered that is still true today. But in many ways that is a good thing since any adult caring for a child wants them to know they should definitely tell if someone has told them to keep a secret. I'm not talking about those kinds of secrets here, but rather just keeping a secret to surprise someone or spare their feelings.

Case in point - last week I was planning Darrin's Father's Day gift with Charley while he was at work. It was early in the morning & I had her decorate & "sign" his card from her. She also put stickers all over the envelope & wrote "Daddy" on the front more or less....mostly less. We put the card in the envelope & I asked her if she wanted to lick it. She did, so I showed her how to carefully lick it & stick it shut.

I told her we had to find a rock that was a few inches long & fairly smooth so she could paint it & we would write his name on it. It would be a paperweight for his desk at work. I explained how if you have lots of papers & want to keep them all in one place you put a paperweight on them. I added that Daddy would think of her every time he saw it on his desk.

We couldn't find a rock around the apartment complex but I told her I would keep looking for one explaining that we still had time until Father's Day. We discussed not telling him so he would be surprised when he opened his present.

After that we watched a couple of Scooby Doo Mysteries, did a few puzzles, played princesses, ate lunch, went to the Dollar Store for more stickers & puzzles, stopped by Kennedy Park to ride the carousel & the train, climbed on everything at the playground & shopped at Target buying Golden State Warriors shirts for both of us.

Darrin takes the Amtrak train to work since commuting in the Bay Area is a nightmare. The train station is less than a mile walk from his apartment, it's about a 40 minute ride then a short walk to his office. He is able to work from home part of the time but I come in to stay with Charley when she is with him so he can go to work. She & I drive down to meet his train in the afternoon.

As he exits the train, Charley runs into his arms showering him with kisses. She usually wants Daddy to sit next to her in the back while I drive us home. They were in the back seat getting her seat belt on while I walked around to the driver's side. I opened the door & heard Darrin say, "You licked it?" Charley replied, "Yeah, I licked it. But we couldn't find a rock." I smiled, shook my head & said, "It  has to do with Father's Day. Don't ask." He smiled back.

I couldn't believe it! After not talking about it since morning & all that we did during the day, the first words out of her mouth are about "our secret".

That reminded me of a time when Darrin was around six. My parents had gone away for a couple days. We lived nearby so it was our job to stop by their house before & after school & in the evening to feed their dog, Faira, & let her outside to do her business. Faira was a total house dog. My sister & I always believed they treated their dog better than us most of the time.

Well, one morning, I thought Faira had come back in the house & gone to their bedroom. I took Darrin to school, went on about my errands, picked up Darrin & went to let Faira out that afternoon. When we walked in the house, I saw the dog outside through the glass door. She was not a happy camper & I knew that my mother would not be pleased that her precious Faira was left outside all day. We let her in & all was fine.

BUT I knew that I had to tell my parents what I had done. While relating this story to my sister, she asked incredulously, "And you told them?" I replied, "I HAD to, Darrin was with me. You know he would have ratted me out." It was a long time before they went somewhere again that they couldn't take the dog with them.