Little Sneak

I think there may well exist some evidence that I have acted like a sneak and a "bender of the truth" in years past.  I have always presumed my wicked ways were learned and not genetic but, alas, it turns out the latter may be the case.

The other night Evan had a bit of an issue with our menu selection.  The food was somewhat spicy and so, taking pity on his pre-school palate, Tam made him a scrambled egg.  Deal was he had to eat his dinner if he wanted to have desert.

As I was sitting on the couch within eyesight of the kitchen, Tam took a couple of items out to the garage.  As she passed his seat at the table she reminded Evan that he needed to clean up his plate if he wanted desert.  Anyone care to guess what happened next?

As the door out to the garage closed behind her I heard Evan's little feet hit the floor followed by the pitter-pat of a mad dash to the garbage.  The can snapped open, the bowl went tap, tap, tap, and, as Tam stepped back in from the garage, Ev went running to her empty bowl in hand. "See I ate my egg all gone.  Now can I have my desert?"

If I think about it there are really two things wrong with his behavior,  First, I'm a little disappointed he is not yet smart enough to realize he could have gotten off on a technicality.  Specifically, he should have said. "See, my egg is all gone."  That would have been a technical truth and would have started him on an early path toward success in America politics.  Second he lied. (Come to think of it, also a qualifier for a career American politics.)

We don't beat our child.  We don't lock him in dark closets.  And he is certainly not deprived of food and treats on the whole.  Life, for Evan, is good. So why lie about it?

After the episode we had the discussion with Ev about truth and lies.  For now there's nothing left to do or say except this:  For a young kid who lives such a fabulous life there can be only one conclusion when examining his clever little attempt at deception:  It must be genetic, linked to the y chromosome.  (That and he's got a long way to go before he gets it right.)