My Top Five “Don’t Tell Dad” Moments!

Ryan and this football get into a lot of trouble at our house. Ryan wanted to show me how hard he could throw the ball so he spiraled it into the couch. I should have said, “Don’t do that again.” A minute later he threw it even harder and hit the window behind the couch and broke the screen. We managed to conceal the damage for a week or so before Jerry noticed it. I’m thinking maybe I need to get him a nerf football!

I remember eating dinner when I was little and my Dad asking who had broken one of the stereo wires. I had tripped over it that day, but hoped he wouldn’t find out. When no one admitted to the deed, he offered anybody a dollar if they could tell him who broke the wire. I ended up with the dollar in my pocket. (Yes, I confessed and he laughed pretty hard that I turned myself in.)

My family had gone to a party at my Aunt Clara’s house when I was a kid. I was pretty young. My older cousin, Paulie, was giving us helicopter rides in the living room and as he swung me around in circles we knocked a small ceramic statue off the top of the television. It was one of those Goddess-like statues with no arms. Its head broke off when it fell. My cousin stuck it back up on the TV and hid the head. My Aunt eventually found out. All I remember is her saying something like, “Just because it has no arms, doesn’t mean you have to knock its head off.” God Bless her, she was so good to all of us.

When I was a kid, I brought a stray cat home once and hid it in my bedroom. It was a nice summer day and my dad was home working outside, my mom was at work. I called her to tell her I had a cat, in my room and please don’t tell dad. Somehow he found out. The cat stayed for a short time, but ended up running away. I think I would freak if my daughter called me at work to tell me she was hiding a stray cat in her room. My mom is a Saint!

My final “Don’t Tell Dad” moment belongs to my son. The other day he was tossing his football around the living room, it slipped and cleared off the top of our entertainment center and knocked out power to the television. Jerry’s told him time and time again to be careful with that ball in the house. He’s a boy though, and it just comes naturally. There were a few scary moments while we tried to get the TV working again, but eventually we got the TV back on, everything picked up and all was well before Dad came up from the basement. He never found out, unless of course he’s reading this now. (Sorry Honey!)