Home Alone

When I went away this past weekend, I asked Max (he’s a senior) to house- and dog-sit for me. All weekend long, my (not so) deviant friends and I joked about the kind of secret trouble he was getting into. Even though we were all self-professed ‘goody goodies’ (and thought Adam Ant was singing about US in 1982) we had a great time one-upping each other on what WE would do if our parents had left us home. Some of us had to make it up…and well, some of us didn’t. (cough)


But while we were all getting a good laugh at the expense of my son (you know, first beer, sex, etc ), I started to panic a bit.  OF COURSE about my oldest 'baby' hitting (ahem) milestones that I wasn't ready for him to hit.  And okay, also because I hadn’t ‘hidden’ my ‘Mom is STILL an Adult’ stuff. Not that anything that I may or may not have was out in plain view. Or on the bathroom counter. Or in the kitchen. But if my kid is a snooper of ANY caliber (and I don’t even mean a GREAT one like I was…) then he’ll know a few things about mom that he really didn’t want to know. NO! You MAY NOT have a key to my house.

I don’t know about you but I’m a snooper. Or at least I was. I don’t mean that I look in medicine cabinets in the bathrooms of the homes I visit. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know what medicine or ointments my friends need. If there is something to be shared, we all share it! Information, that is!

No, when I was a kid…if I had to babysit my little sister, I couldn’t WAIT for my parents to leave so I could snoop in their room. You know that old adage, “Curiosity killed the cat?” Well…Yeah. DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING IN YOUR ROOM THAT YOU THINK IS HIDDEN. Children are explorers and if there is anything to be found…oh, there IS that secret thrill of the hunt.

In the world of commercials that show people rifling through our personal affects, movies that show kids bringing out our ‘personal massagers’ for all to see, it’s almost commonplace that we snoop and invade. Right? Anyone? Ummm…is this mic on?!