She tricked me

Last week, Sarah got in a bit of trouble for being a bit too lax about her Spanish project, and as a result, she lost her computer privileges.

But like a jail house lawyer, she is always looking for the loopholes, and she is quite expert at exposing them.

On Tuesday, in preparation for a math test, she told me she would like to use the computer to go to some math study sites her teacher has recommended. How odd, I thought. She has these math assessments monthly, and I've never seen her express much interest in preparing for them in any way whatsoever, let alone go online to study. I pointed out that I thought this was merely a clever ruse to use the computer. Nice try, I said, but no.

As they say in chess, Check: Mom.

I, in the meantime, have been blogging up a storm, and Sarah is very curious about all this writing.

She seems to me to be a natural writer; already, at 10, I think she writes extremely well. She is funny, creative, and has a very good sense of timing. She actually got in trouble in school last week during social studies, because as her teacher was presenting a lesson on New Jersey settlers, it gave Sarah a story idea, which she was compelled to write down immediately, on her handout. Her teacher noticed she wasn't paying attention, and decided to call on her, at which point, Sarah was exposed. I was amused and proud to see her thinking like a writer.

On Friday night, she asked me if she could read my blog. She knows it is largely about our family, and since she is interested in writing, I am trying to cultivate this. It also, of course, appealed to my ego, so I said sure, she could take a look at a few items. (I mean, she already knows all the major curse words, whose acquisition, I've noticed, is something of a sport among elementary school students.)

After ten minutes or so, it occurred to me; WAIT A MINUTE, SHE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE USING THE COMPUTER THIS WEEK!

Remembering this, I told her to stop. But she is one smart cookie. In appealing to my vanity, she got me to break my own rule.

Checkmate: Sarah.