True Stories

I want to share with you about my wonderful little 4 year old, Eli. He has always been the "strong willed" type...and yes, by that I mean STUBBORN! lol  I couldn't love the kid anymore then I already do, but his stubbornness can make for some very challenging days. well the past few weeks he's seemed to be getting better, at least about throwing big 2 year old tantrums when he doesn't get his way. He in turn has become a creative thinker and story teller lately. He will come up and tell me these elaborate stories that aren't true...but he will swear up and down that they are true. 

After explaining the difference  between just being silly and telling funny stories and lying he seemed to understand...or so I thought. I told him it was ok to tell silly, funny, not true stories as long as you told whoever you were talking to that your just pretending, and how you should never tell someone something that isn't true and promise them that it is true because that would be lying. 

So the other day as we were in the car Eli says to me "Mom, I've got to tell you this very true, true, true....TRUE story" I said "Ok E, tell me your true story." The following is the story that unfolded...

ELI: The other day I was taking a dump and out came the biggest turd I've ever seen and in my poop was a huge diamond! 

Seeing that maybe he hasn't totally grasped the idea of when you say something is true...that is actually NEEDS to be true...I went along with his story so I could see how far he would take it.

ME: Really? So what did you do with that big diamond???

ELI: I just threw it out in the yard.

ME: What? No way!!! Diamonds are worth A LOT of money...and you just threw it out in the yard for anyone to come take it??? Aww man! You could have be rich!

After about 15 seconds of pondering he came back with this quick reply...

ELI: Well mom...is was raining outside, and the diamond had poop all over it. The rain washed the poop off it and then I went and picked it up! (all with a hint of "duh, mom why don't you know this already?" tone in his voice.)

ME: Oh, well that's a good thing. So what did you do with your big diamond? Did you buy something with it cause I haven't seen your big diamond anywhere. 

ELI: Yeah, I bought a brand new bunk bed!

ME: Really? Well where is it??? I didn't see any new bunk bed in your room.

And without a second's pause he came back with this...

ELI: Well I didn't by it for me! I bought a tiny little bunk bed for the baby mice up in the attic!

 Just a few days before this we had found two baby mice that escaped from the attic (that Eli wanted to keep as pets and we refused! lol)

ME: Wow, you only got one tiny little bunk bed for your big 'ol diamond??? I think you got ripped out E, cause you could have gotten a lot more with that big of a diamond. 

ELI: Well, I didn't just get one tiny bunk bed...I got thousands of them! 

ME: Wow! Really?!?!?! Thousands???? Where on earth are you going to put all those bunk beds? 

ELI: MOM!!!!! (with that same tone of "For real mom....you don't get this yet?") I had to get more then one tiny bunk bed cause the mice have brothers and sisters you know! They all have to have beds to sleep in don't they???

ME: Well that was nice of you to spend all of the money you would have had from the diamond on someone else. So your telling me if when we get home and I go up into the attic, I will find a ton of little, tiny mice bunk beds up there....cause you told me this was a true story???

ELI: Yep, its a true, true, TRUE story. 

And that was his true, and he was sticking to it! lol While on one hand I secretly am applauding his creativity, on the other hand I think I may have to reiterate the whole lesson on telling  people your just being silly when your making up stories and not telling people they are really true. lol