Such an amateur on my part....God, I hope to get that good.

"How many more bites?"
"Laurel", looking at her bowl, "Three more big bites and you can go back to the computer."
As she is finishing her dinner, she lets me know that she would like to have some friends over.
"Laurel--that is fine."  (Of course, you know, there are few that might not be let in the house but they can play in the driveway.)
"But, Mom, I would like to have just boys over for a sleepover play date.
(WTF?  God damn you Katy Perry--you are so dead to me!)
I am silent; my fingernails are close to drawing blood in my palms. I look at Laurel and calmly ask "Really?"  (Stay calm!)
"APRIL FOOL'S!!  I told you that I would get you!"

A mix of emotions run through me like Taco Bell.  I am impressed that she kept a straight face but also seemed to zero in on the exact sore spot that makes me talk to myself:  boys.  But regardless, I hate feeling like an idiot. (Laurel--I hope you like what I pack you for lunch tomorrow.)

It reminds me of the only time when I tried to pull a fast one on my mom.  In the mid-90's, when I was living alone in Boston, I called my mom on April 1st, to tell her that I was pregnant.  (I had no boyfriend and I think there were a couple of months where I would have had to appear on Maury Povich to figure out where the child support would come from.)   Before I could tell my mom that the joke was on her, she reaction was full of support, joy and patience.  I really thought she was going to go apeshit..but she didn't and because she didn't, I felt terrible letting her know that I was joking.  As I was thinking about this tonight after Laurel's freakin' funny joke, I just realized that my mom countered my joke with her own joke--her reaction of sheer joy and then my feeling like a jerk.

Such an amateur on my part....God, I hope to get that good.

As a post script to this story..a certain CCW was involved with Laurel's joke.  (Not going to get a lot of rest tonight, Ching, when you have to sleep with one eye open!)