Truth and a Lie

Norah and I always talk when we are in the car. Sometimes I wish she would just sit there and listen to NPR with me, but most of the time I appreciate our conversations. A few weeks ago we were sitting in traffic and we were both getting really antsy. So, I decided to see if I could qualify her as a child witness in a criminal trial in California. See, it's pretty shocking, but the standard is really low for a child to be considered competent to testify. The judge conducts a hearing and determines whether or not the kid understands the difference between the truth and a lie and then if the kid understands there is a consequence if she tells a lie. That's it. (Be horrified and offended. It's nuts.) Anyway, Norah would definitely be qualified to testify.

Since then one of her new favorite games to play in the car is 'truth or a lie.' We take turns coming up with a question and then the other has to say if it's a truth or a lie. It started pretty simple, ie, "Norah's brother is named Louis, is that a truth or a lie?" Or, "Norah lives in Antarctica, is that a truth or a lie?" After a while she started to get a little more abstract and would say things like, "cars are people, is that a truth or a lie?" Or, "the street is not really a street, is that a truth or a lie?" Sometimes, I don't know the right answer. Sometimes there isn't a right answer, which cracks her up.

Tonight on the way to the library she said, "trees are beds, is that a truth or a lie?" I said, "that's a lie. People don't sleep in trees." To which she responded, "IT'S A TRUTH! A TREE IS A BED FOR A SQUIRREL!"

She's way smarter than I am.