Don’t call DHR just yet

By By Leada Gore, Editor
My mother still tells the story of the time my brother went to show and tell and told a story that would have better been left unsaid. It involved the activities of a relative and wasn’t exactly the kind of thing you’d want shared in public, much less in a second grade classroom.
The teacher, an education veteran, told my mother, “I won’t believe all the things they say about you if you won’t believe all the things they say about me.”
Those are wise words and ones that came to mind recently when Sutton decided to make an announcement while we were shopping at a local store. Sutton likes to wiggle her way inside the clothes racks, something I don’t like at all. Extracting her from the round rack, I was picking her up from the ground when she yelled at the top of her lungs “Please don’t lock me in the closet.”
What? The closet?
I looked around at the fellow shoppers – most of whom were staring at me – and smiled nervously.
And then we left the store. Quickly.
When we got outside, I asked Sutton why she had thought she would be locked in the closet. She just looked at me, obviously moving on to the latest activity that so enraptures 2-year-olds, such as putting a sticker on the window of the car.
When we got home, I told Greg what she had said and shared my thoughts about where such ideas had come from.
But you can only protect them from so much.
Later that night, Sutton and her dad were reading a book. Old black and white reruns of “The Andy Griffith” show were on in the background. After they finished reading, Greg showed Sutton the show. Before long, she was asking questions about Andy and Barney and the jail.
Greg answered each patiently.
Obviously, this had an effect on Sutton. The next morning, Greg did something Sutton didn’t like and she yelled she was going to “Send daddy to jail.”
Just remember – I won’t believe her if you don’t either.