Moving

One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. 'Oh, no,' I said, 'Disneyland burned down.' He cried and cried, but I think that deep down, he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.

~ Jack Handey

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When Chris' Mom and Dad moved a few years ago, we told the girls that they moved into a cute little house on the other side of town. When we went to Manchester, we took them by this abandoned building next to the railroad tracks.

The girls were not impressed.

Later we told them it was a joke. And that their grandparents ran off and left a note that said, "Don't try to find us. The reason we're running away is YOU, Maddie and Elizabeth. Now leave us alone."

They didn't believe that, either.

Actually, that second part is a lie. We DID drive them by that abandoned blue building and tell them it was their grandparent's new house. The note part I made up, though. I just thought of it. If I had thought of it at the time, we'd have done that, too.

I think jokes like that help build the girls' self esteem.