Magic Eyes

Many months ago I got the brilliant idea to tell Buddy that I have magic eyes. I thought that if Buddy knew I had magic eyes and that I could see him when he wasn't with me, he'd be on his best behavior when out of my "sight." He totally believed the story and I've used it many times to my advantage. And I truly believe it's kept him honest and good at times.

What I didn't consider, though, is that Buddy has a clever way out outwitting me when I least expect it. And boy have my magic eyes come back to bite me in the rear these past few days.

For example, we went to another pirate concert yesterday. The Buddy and his two friends were obviously excited and their excitement grew when they realized the concert was at a really cool park with teeter-totters. As soon as we parked, Buddy's friend informed me that he wanted to ride them. We got settled on the grass, headed over for some pirate stamps and pirate tattoos, and then after awhile we made our way over to the playground. We started out on the slides but within minutes Buddy and James were no longer near me. I scanned the area, which was swarming with hundreds of children, and finally spotted them clear across the park on a teeter-totter. I went to them and scolded them for not staying with me. James said, "I told you we wanted to go on the teeter-totter." True, he had, but twenty minutes earlier! And then Buddy said, "You could see me, you have magic eyes!" I wasn't sure if I was more mad that they had run away from me or that Buddy was using that against me...

Buddy has gotten into the bad habit of either climbing over the fence or unlocking the fence in our backyard so he can play in the front yard. I'm a paranoid parent and won't let him in the front yard without me. No matter how many times he's lost the privilege of playing outside because he left the backyard without my knowledge, he keeps doing it. One day I was doing dishes in the kitchen and realized I hadn't seen or heard from Buddy in awhile. I went to the back door and called for him. Now, our yard is tiny, so it's not like he could have gone far. ...Unless he left the yard again. No answer. So I headed to the gate and sure enough it was open. And I noticed that he was shooting the breeze with our neighbor. She spotted me and said, "Oh there you are." I asked her how long he had been out there and she told me about ten minutes or so. Just as I was about to strangle the child and put him in timeout for the rest of the day, she stopped me and said, "Wait before you get mad. I cannot wait to tell you what he told me." As she was talking she was about peeing her pants laughing. She said that she asked him what I was doing and he said "playing on the computer." (I wish) She asked him if I knew he was in the front yard and he said, "No she doesn't. But it's OK. She can see me with her magic eyes."