Don’t Tell Dad

The best part of my sister Rebecca being born when I was 14 is that for her formative years I got to be one heck of a cool sister – one that could drive and didn’t live at home!

I started doing things with her when the stars aligned and I moved back to our hometown when she was 12. I got to see her a lot more after my divorce, when she would come and spend some weekends with me. During this phase in our lives, we started our “Don’t tell Dad” collection.

The story I am about to tell you is from that collection. It’s been 15 years, so I figured it was safe for this story to be released to the general public.

One weekend, when Rebecca was 14 or 15, I decided we should go to see a play at the Old Globe theatre.

It is the most prestigious theatre group in my town, so I didn’t even look at the play description when buying tickets: it was playing on a night we were available.

The play started off quite funny, and Rebecca and I were laughing. Then it started to get a bit raunchy. My jaw dropped, but Rebecca continued laughing at all the “right” … or from my perspective “wrong” … parts. “Oh my goodness gracious, I’m contributing to the delinquency of a minor! ” was running through my head.

At intermission I looked at her and said, “You enjoying the play?”

“Yes!”

“You understanding the play?”

With the exaggerated eye roll only teenagers can perfect, “Yes.”

Okay. So she was enjoying herself. The guilt of the performance choice was still bothering me until I remembered our Dad had let her watch Something About Mary when she was 13. This was so much more refined than that. I felt much better.

The next day as we were on the drive back to her place, I asked her what we should say when Dad asked about our weekend. “I’ve got it covered.”

“But …”

“I said, I’ve got this.”

As we walked through the door Dad asked how our weekend was. Rebecca said, “Great.”

“What did you do?”

“We went to a play,” she said.

“Did you stay awake?”

Rebecca looked at me and smiled, “Yes, I managed to stay awake.”

After that I trusted her whenever she said she had it.

Happy birthday, Rebecca, and Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

Did anyone else have “Don’t tell dad” lists with their siblings? or Ever end up in an age-inappropriate show?