Tell the Truth

Those are three words Randy Pausch deemed some of the most important words to teach your children. I agree with him so that's what I am trying to practice with mine. To tell the truth. For the most part it is not a huge challenge. It is easy to tell your ten year old that her best line of defense is to tell the truth. Lies beget lies and are so much more difficult to keep track of when most times, the truth really serves the situation better. It is easy to tell your three year old that she must be truthful about her behaviors at school when you have been battling hitting and biting in the classroom. Tonight we didn't have those kinds of easy truths. Tonight for one split second I didn't want to tell my 10 year old daughter the truth. I didn't want to answer her questions with truth that is too painful for me to articulate without dissolving into tears. Our truth tonight is the cancer is back. Our truth tonight is we face another battle at best. Our truth tonight is knowledge is sometimes terrifying. My nephew is back at Shands tonight. There are new tumors and new lesions. We will know more tomorrow. But tonight the truth was hard tonight. I hope and pray our truth is easier tomorrow.