At dinner one night, we were all sitting around and having a nice evening. No one had to be anywhere or had anything they needed to do. We were just enjoying the conversation and having fun together.

And that’s when Zoe said, completely out of the blue, “Dad, you should see the expensive pocketbook Mom bought today.”
“Yeah,” Avi said, “I couldn’t believe how much she paid for it. But it’s really nice. You’ll like it. She has such good taste.”

I started laughing – a guilty laugh – because this isn’t the first time they’ve done this to me.

They think it’s funny to tell Jon that I’ve bought something expensive, in hopes that he will get annoyed. I don’t know what they think will happen, but they enjoy tricking him. They especially like watching me squirm. Nice, huh?

Zoe and Avi said earlier this summer they were “going to join forces.” I guess this is what they meant.

I’m a horrible liar. Something, I might point out, is actually a good thing. If I ever do try to tell a little white lie, I get a smile on my face. Those who know me well, know I’m not being honest. This means, that when my kids try to trick me, and I start to smile and laugh at their remarks, Jon immediately suspects I’m trying to hide something.

Family dynamics.

“How much did Mom actually spend on this purse?” Jon asked, completely falling for their little trick. He would never suspect his precious girls would ever tell him something that wasn’t true. And even though this isn’t the first time we’ve gone down this road, he falls for it. Every time. Over and over. Again and again.

“Are you kidding?” I said to Zoe and Avi, “You’re really going to do this?” I was laughing, because I do think it’s funny. And the more I laughed, the more the kids laughed, which made Jon think I was caught. Zoe and I were almost crying we were laughing so hard.

Which in Jon’s mind screamed GUILTY.

I’m sure he was visualizing dollar signs.

And while we were laughing, he wasn’t.

He continued to try to determine the facts, which Avi was more than happy to supply.

This persisted for about five more minutes, until finally we stopped laughing, and the girls came clean.

Not that I would hide anything from him anyway. But sometimes, a girl doesn’t need to fully disclose all of her purchases to her husband.

It’s not necessary. As long as you’re aware of your financial capabilities, and stay inline with this, you shouldn’t have to run everything by your husband. Something Jon knows I fully believe and live by.

But we all had a fun laugh, at my expense. I just hope Jon doesn’t fall for their little act again, because I’m sure we’ll have another performance. One day. When we least expect it.

Find meaning each day,

Dara