This morning, as I was rushing to get my son ready for school, I realized I had forgotten to give him money for lunch. I started to panic. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” I said, feeling guilty.
But my eight-year-old son just shrugged and smiled. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll check the cornflakes box where Dad hides the money.”
I froze. “What?”
He ran to the kitchen, grabbed the Frosted Flakes box, and shook it. A few bills fell out onto the counter.
I stood there, stunned. “How did you learn that?”
“Dad always does it,” he replied matter-of-factly. “He says it’s his secret hiding place.”
I couldn’t help laughing. My husband had never mentioned this brilliant hiding spot. I could just imagine him discreetly slipping cash into the box, thinking no one would ever find it.
When my husband got home, I asked him, “So it’s the cornflakes box, huh?”
His eyes went wide. “How do you know…?”
“Our son,” I said, smiling.
He sighed. “I just thought it was a safe place. No one ever looks in the cornflakes box.”
“Except our son, it seems.”
We both laughed, realizing that our little one was more observant than we’d ever guessed.
From now on I’ll double-check that lunch money is in his pocket, but I also know exactly where to look if I need a few extra dollars.
