As Heard Tonight, vol. 6

One of my favorite times of day is when I get to tuck my son into bed. If I am lucky, he invites me in for a quick snuggle and some silly banter about his day. Tonight, he asked for a back scratch as we talked about his day at school.

The boy chattered on about his new teacher, what he made in Art class, who he played with at recess and sat by during lunch. After several minutes, he began to talk about how some kids in his class had been getting into trouble. Apparently they have been making silly noises when the teacher turned her back.

My initial thought was, "Aren't these kids a little young for that? Second grade... I don't remember trying to do that stuff until I was much older." My next thought was to ask my son if he was participating in the shenanigans. He promised me that he was not. Then things got interesting...

The boy leaned his head in really close to mine... as if he was going to tell me a deep, dark secret. In a very serious voice he said, "Sometimes kids in my class misbehave and my teacher doesn't know who did it. But do you know what? I can always tell who it was."

"Really," I said. "How can you tell?"

A huge smile crept across his face. "I just look around the room and see who's face is the reddest. Then I know who was being bad," he stated.

I asked him if his teacher could tell who was being bad too. His reply was a simple, "No." He then started laughing uncontrollably. I could tell that he was really proud of himself.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Only my boy could figure out what a 50+ year old grandmother and 20 year teaching veteran couldn't. The guilt was written all over their faces.

If only we can teach him to use his powers for good an not evil...