Suspicious Minded

I'm always on the lookout. Part of it is my job. Part of it is my childhood shenanigans. Part of it is I've read one too many thriller/detective novels.

I will come down the stairs quietly in the mornings if Shane wakes up before me. That way, if he is up to anything, I'll see what he's doing before he has a chance to cover tracks.

Or if Shane is up in his room, I take stock of where all the high-interest, no-touch items are (like the kindle) and keep an ear open.

If I tell Shane he can play outside, I let him go out on his own, but I keep my ears and my sight lines open to monitor surreptitiously.

Honestly, Shane's pretty honest. If he thinks it, he does it. If he thinks he's in trouble at school (and his teacher may write a note), he will tell me what's up as we get in the car. He will try to deflect or paint a more positive story if he realizes he's made an obvious mistake, but A) he's bad at it and B) he normally comes clean.

Whether that is a function of his natural honest/inclination for attention or that he's learned I'm onto him and it's better to come clean, I cannot say.

I feel like I'm very good about paying attention without making it seem like I'm paying attention. However, maybe Shane's picked up that Dad seems to know what's going on all the time and that's part of the reason he loves attention so much.