I Didn't Lie....I Just Didn't Tell the Whole Truth

So late this afternoon, I picked my son up from school.  He was in good spirits and seemed overly pumped about watching the final two episodes of 24: Season 8.  It has been our Netflix addiction for months now.  Never mind that I was convinced that Jack Bauer surely had to die at the end, and Zachary was convinced that out of a stroke of luck Jack would live to see another day.

So me being the good mom that I strive to be, I immediately asked Zachary if he had completed his homework.  He replied "yes", which is not at all unusual as he frequently completes his homework in after school care.  We got home, fed the cat, fed ourselves, Zach got his shower and we settled in to watch the exciting culmination of eight seasons of that bada#s Jack Bauer's rouge adventures.  The final season came to close....not to worry - no spoilers here, and the rest of the evening routine kicked into gear.

I packed his lunch, asked for his assignment folder so that I could sign it and told him that I wanted to look over his homework.  There was some 10 year old evasion tactics in full force when I asked for his folder, so I should have know that something wasn't quite right.  Of course, when he FINALLY handed it over, only one side of the homework sheet was complete.  The incomplete side required cutting and gluing and Zachary insisted that his teacher was not requiring that portion to be done because she hadn't provided that "special sheet of extra paper".  Needless to say, I was more than a little perturbed at him.  I immediately told him to hand over the i-Pod Touch and demanded to know why he lied.  He emphatically denied that he had lied and attempted to explain to me again that Mrs. Reynolds didn't give him the material that he needed to complete the assigment.

After much debate, he and I finally came to the agreement that "not telling the whole truth" is just a less harsh explanation of a lie.  He was angry at me and I hate that.  But as I tucked him in tonight, I explained to him that it was because I love him so much that I called him out and was taking his i-Pod Touch away. There has to be consequences for bad behavior.  I told him that if I didn't love him I wouldn't care what he did and I wouldn't feel compelled to teach him right from wrong.  Funny thing is...when I leaned down to kiss him good night and tell him that I love him.....he smiled at me and said "love you too, Mom".   That my friends is truly PRICELESS!  Just goes to prove that although you want to be their friends, they need you to be their parents.

Zach when he still thought that I knew EVERYTHING!