Lies! All Lies!

I forgot to tell you this a couple weeks ago when it actually happened. Bug was home sick with the stomach flu, and I was at work while The Agent stayed home with her. On my lunch hour, I ran to McDonald's to pick up lunch to take to The Agent. But when I opened my wallet to pay, I didn't have any cash. What? I was SURE that I had two twenties in my wallet. Where did they go? I figured they were somewhere at the bottom of my purse. I paid with my ATM and went home for lunch. I didn't really think much of it.

Then, at about 3:30, I got a call back at my office. It was the school. It was BK's teacher.

"So, a student from another class approached me and handed me one of your credit cards," she said.

What the what?

"He said that BK gave it to him," she continued.

Oh, snap.

I got off the phone and tore my purse apart. I was missing the two twenties and the credit card for my medical spending account

I drove to the school and picked up m. credit card from the front office, and then I picked up BK from the after school program.

"So, BK," I asked once we got into the car. "Did you go into Mom's wallet and take one of my cards?"

"No."

"BK, I know you took my card, and I need it back. Where is it?"

"I didn't take anything."

"BK, I already know! Tell me the truth! Where is the card?"

"I didn't take anything."

"What else did you take?"

"I didn't take anything."

"BK, you're hurting my feelings! I already know what happened, and I love you no matter what! You don't need to lie! Tell me the truth!"

BK started to cry. "I am telling you the truth!"

Grrr. We drove the rest of the way home in silence.

When we got home, The Agent and I sat him down, and then I showed him the card. You could tell that his little brain just could not compute how I could have possibly gotten that card.

"BK, whose card is this?"

His voice was low, barely a whisper. "Yours."

"Really? How do you know?"

His head was down. "I saw it in your wallet."

And where do you think I found this card today?"

"At school."

Yes. Now we're getting somewhere.

It turns out that BK admitted to taking the card and "two dollars." He gave the card to a boy in a different class (BK didn't know his name and we could never get out of him why he felt the need to give this nameless boy my credit card). He gave the cash to one of his classmates, because "he lost his glasses and he was going to have to pay for a new pair."

That might be super nice of him, or it might be another lie. He clearly has a problem.

I explained to him the importance of not taking things that don't belong to him. He's only 5, he clearly didn't understand the value of what he was taking. it was coincidental that Bug was sick, so I got to use that. "See how Bug is sick? That card lets us take her to the doctor. Because I didn't have the card, I couldn't take her to the doctor. And because I didn't have any cash, I couldn't buy her any medicine."

So, yes, BK got in trouble for taking something without asking, and he had to pay me back the $40 from money in his own account. But he most got in trouble for lying. He was so blatantly lying, even when I told him I knew the truth. He only came clean when the evidence was placed right in front of him.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? He's only 5!