“What did you hide from your parents as a child?”
I suspect there are many things I didn’t tell my parents or tried to hide at the time.
The stairs
Until I left after graduation, the house I lived in had a basement and attic (we called it upstairs.) There were wooden stairs to the attic on rollers, and we entered the basement by pushing the stairs back. Unfortunately, the stairs stood almost vertical when back.
Probably, I hid that my younger brother and I often climbed to the attic on the pushed-back stairs. It was our bedroom, and we often wanted something from it. If the stairs were back, we left them and climbed. I doubt if we ever thought we would fall, and we never did. I don’t think my parents knew we did this.
I planned to hide something from my Mother while visiting my father in Great Lakes, Illinois. He was stationed there for a time while in the US Navy.
My Uncle James lived with us and worked the eve shift at Caterpillar. His part will become clear shortly.
Date gone awry
I had recently gotten my driver’s license, and Mom had left her car keys. So my friend Greg and I came up with this plan. We were in Junior Achievement together with a pair of sisters. We wanted to go roller-skating with them, and I offered to drive.
I stopped for Greg before picking up the sisters at their home. We spent a lovely evening together at the rink before I had to take them home. I needed to have the car back before my uncle got home from his shift.
All was good so far. Greg and the girls were home. It was now that I got the shock of my young life. I was leaving Peoria when the car stopped. I realized the car was out of gas as I coasted to a stop on the side of the road. You might imagine how stupid I felt at the time.
@#@#@#, what do I do now? My first effort was to walk back into Peoria and search for a gas station. Keep in mind—it was before cell phones. I spent some time before accepting I had no option but to call my Uncle James.
By now, it was after midnight, and he was asleep. I woke him and explained what had happened and where the car was. His voice told me how unhappy he was.
The rest of the story is he woke my Uncle Donald, and they came to the rescue with a gas can. Uncle James drove me and the car home. I hoped this would be the end of it, but he felt the need to let my Mother know. It was the last time my Mother left the keys when she visited Dad.
As I started, I am sure there are other things I hid, but none come to mind at the moment.
Do you have anything you hid from your parents?