Those Lies That Parents Tell

Between my cousin's wedding luncheon and reception yesterday I took some of my younger cousins out of the hair of their parents who were trying to put up decorations and to the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum here on campus. There was, of course, one little girl who was very upset with all the dead animals. That was me as a child (and to some extent me now, to be honest), so I understood completely and was ready with the lie that my mother had told me many a time, "All the animals here died peacefully of old age."

I remember quite specifically the day in my early elementary school days when I worked up the courage to ask my parents what sex was. It was something kids talked about in whispered tones, so of course it was quite intriguing. They told me it was whether you were a boy or a girl. Now that wasn't necessarily a lie, but it's evasive, nonetheless. I left the conversation confused because it always sounded like something you do.