show & tell a fib

Lauren absolutely loves it when I take my monthly turn to volunteer at her preschool. She gets to blink the lights when it's clean-up time, use a pointer to count the days of the month, report the weather, be the line leader, and, best of all, bring something for show & tell.

Her teacher, Ms. Lynn, requests that the item a student brings for show & tell corresponds with the letter of the week. This week was "L Week." Fully aware of the situation, Lauren said to me, "Mom, I really want to take Jewely to show & tell."

"That would be really fun, wouldn't it? Too bad it's not 'J Week' or 'U Week.'" She was quiet, and then I heard her say, quite mischievously, from the back seat, "I know how I can take her."

"How?"

"What if . . . her name started with 'L'?"

"You mean, like, if her name were 'Louise'?"

"Yes! Louise."

Sure enough, on show & tell morning Lauren came down the stairs to leave for school with her beloved Jewely in her arms. When the time arrived for show & tell she went to her cubby and produced Jewely, then stood next to her teacher and said, as though it were the gospel truth, "This is my unicorn, Louise." She smiled.

"Louise!" Ms. Lynn repeated. "That starts with 'L'!" A visiting county supervisor exclaimed, "My name is Louise, and I almost never meet anyone with that name, much less a unicorn!"

Lauren proudly paraded her unicorn in front of each of her classmates, who took turns petting her sparkly mane and horn.

I kept her secret.

Walking to the car I asked, "So, is Jewely's name Louise now?"

Lauren's walk had a little bounce to it. "No," she said, "Louise is just her nickname."