Eyes in the Back of Their Heads

Do mothers really have eyes in the back of their heads? I used to wonder, really wonder. Why couldn't we ever outsmart Mommy?

During kindergarten we had a friend who liked to come over to our house and play. Mommy allowed and even welcomed this, but it was a rule that she had to go home first and tell her mother where she was, of course. We children couldn't see the sense of that; why bother, we thought. But it seemed our playmate's words "I've gone home already" never fooled Mommy; somehow she always knew if she was lying about it.

Aha! We figured it out. It was 'cuz our friend would leave her schoolbag at home if she told her mother where she would be playing but would bring it over with her if she came straight from school. The BAG was giving it away! So the next time she came over, she left her bag outside, against the wall of the house. And that worked, for awhile. Until that is, Mommy had to take out the trash or bring in the laundry....

We had to come straight home from school. No trips to the candy store, no rides on buses with friends, no unsupervised activity until we had come home first. Woe be to us if Mommy or Daddy found out we had done otherwise! It didn't occur to us that they were concerned for our safety. One thing was clear: they were trying to drill into us obedience and honesty.