Pants On Fire

I do not like to be lied to.

Allow me to repeat that : I do not like to be lied to.

Do not look me in the eye - or in some tell-tale instances the forehead, chin, or nose - and lie to me.

If you are lying to me, it means you have most likely done something wrong. It could be a little thing, or it could be a horrible thing, but either way, it is going to effect me in some way, and that is irritating. It could be a little irritating or horribly irritating, but the fact that it is irritating is inarguable. Just tell me, simply be honest with me, right from the get-go. It is simpler.

When you lie to me about something - about anything, you create a two-fer. You know, two issues for the price of one. First, there is whatever you are trying to hide from me. Second, there is the lie. See? Two issues. And I do not like issues. I really do not like other people's issues being turned into my issues.

Of course there is the third issue, but it is yours more than mine. I do not trust people who lie to me. If you will lie about one thing, you could lie about anything. If you lie to one person, you could lie to every person. So why would I trust a liar?

I was lied to today, by a colleague. For some reason, I consider this more offensive than when the students try to lie to me. After being a parent for thirty-two years, a middle years teacher for over twenty-two years, and a grandparent for fourteen years, I have developed some fairly amazing lie-detecting abilities. So when I have to sit there and respond to someone I work with who is definitely lying to me, and I must be professional about it, I get a wee bit steamed up. I actually had to have a student check my ears and nostrils to ensure there was no actual steam coming out of them. There was, ultimately, nothing I could do but smile and nod.

Oh. There was one more thing I did. I filed that information in my "DO NOT TRUST" file.

SMH.