lies parents tell

(Did I already write this?)

When Meg and I were little, we would watch "The Sound of Music" on tape at our grandma's house after supper. After 90 minutes (after the wedding) my mom would come up and turn it off and say, "Okay, the movie's over, it's time for bed." And we went -- I was 10 or 12 before I found out there's more to the movie after the wedding.

Another lie: When we were little, my mom told us our aunt's name was Betty Lyn. (Our relatives live relatively far away.) So we called her Betty Lyn. Sometimes people would talk about someone named Debi, and we'd just brush it off -- they talked about lots of people we'd never heard of. I was 10 or 12 before I found out my aunt's name wasn't Betty Lyn -- Betty Lyn is the real name of Thelma Lou (Barney's girlfriend) on the Andy Griffith Show. But I've never gotten used to calling her Debi, so I don't.