A couple of years ago, my mother was packing my oldest (younger) brother up for camp and i took my-then 3 year old brother out of the house so that she could get some work done. After taking him for ice cream, I decided to buy my mother a birthday present since it was only days away. I was very conscious however, that as a child, my little brother could easily give away the secret. So on the way home I trained him:
“Avi, when we get home and mommy asks us what we did, you say ‘we got ice cream’ and nothing else. If she asks you what we did after that, say ‘nothing’ okay?”
And I practiced being my mother, always ending with “and then what did you do?” to hear his response “nothing”.
It was perfect.
When we walked in the door, my mother asked what we did. My brother answered, “We got ice cream”. Step A, complete.
Apparently however, my mother wasnt THAT interested, and she went back to packing.
My brother persisted though,
“Mommy, now you ask me what we did after that!”
Not exactly according to plan 😉