Have you ever gotten caught in a lie? I have, which was the cause of public humiliation. I can laugh about it now, but at the time I was mortified. The scenario was like something out of Seinfeld (one of my all time favorite shows). My family was traveling to Arizona and my children were eight and five years old at the time. We were flying on Southwest Airlines and at that time they didn’t offer the option of purchasing an early bird boarding pass. We were assigned B & C boarding groups. Anyone that has flown on Southwest knows it’s like a cattle call when it comes to boarding the plane.
Southwest’s pre-boarding rules regarding boarding with children seem to vary state to state. My kids were always smaller then their age and could easily pass for a year younger than their actual age. My daughter was five and the age limit was four and under. My gut told me we shouldn’t chance pre-boarding, plus I’m a horrible liar. However, my husband was convinced we would have no problem. Being the obedient wife that I am (note sarcastic tone), I agreed to get in the pre-board line. I was worried we wouldn’t all be seated together.
The ticket agent took my husband’s ticket, then my sons and then she paused and looked at my sweet five year old daughter. She looked directly at me and asked, “How old is she?” In my best lying voice I could muster I replied FOUR. Then my sweet little daughter with her big voice yelled, “No I’m not, I’m FIVE. I’m FIVE.”
The ticket agent looked me straight in the eyes and like a stern teacher sent me and my family to the back of the line. Head hung low my family marched back to the B & C group. I’m sure my face was 50 shades of red. Needless to say, I was one of the last people to board the plane, but it all worked out and we were able to sit together.
The moral of this story is: It’s better to tell the truth with a smile on your face than lie to a ticket agent because they have no compassion. As my Bible study leader would say, “faith and scheming don’t mix!”
I’ve done this more than once Dawn! You are not alone. 🙂 The one that sticks out the most is taking my kids roller skating for the first time 2 yrs ago. 4 and under were free and it was $6 or $7 for 5 and up. I wasn’t even sure if my kids would be able to skate (which they weren’t!) so I quietly told the attendant Remi was 4. She, however, had turned 5 two weeks prior and was very proud of it. As quiet as I was, it was not quiet enough. Remi immediately corrected me and looked right at the attendant and told her she was 5! I then stooped so low as to have an argument with Remi right there, telling her that she was confused. That even though she had already had her party, she actually hadn’t turned 5 yet. Looking back…HOW EMBARRASSING! I was determined to not look like a liar at this point to the employee so I stuck to my guns and then had to have a long, apologetic (and confusing to her) conversation with Remi after. To this day, when someone asks her age, she always looks at us first to try to gage her answer. 🙂
That’s hilarious Christine! I don’t feel so bad now. The lessons we learn from our children.
Leave it to the 5 year old to have the best moral compass! I love this story!
That’s so true. Thanks Stacey!
Oh my gosh!! It’s been a while since I’ve laughed out loud alone…thank you Dawn & Kristine!! I needed that =)))
Thanks for the chuckle. For SURE, you cannot lie about a child’s age within their hearing range. They are very proud of each & every day they accumulate towards being “older”.
So true! It was one of the life lessons I’ll never forget.