Enter in, Exhibit B: One month later, we take our daughter in for a routine teeth cleaning. She needs a cavity filled and the dentist pulls out the needle and says "I'm going to give you a little sleepy medicine for your mouth. It won't hurt a bit." Only a video clip would do this justice. Standing in the middle of an open exam area with patient chairs separated only by small dividers is our daughter with tears streaming from her eyes screeching "No, you're going to hurt me! You are crazy! I hate dentists!" Um, yeah, that's our daughter. Well, after two more follow-up visits (aka. attempts to sway her with bribes, motherly "words of encouragement," and even a little happy gas), she was referred to a specialist. Who, as I waited patiently in the waiting area, grabbed her face and said, "you will behave," as she screamed at the top of her lungs. The girl is scared of needles...this is not a behavior issue. But, that is a totally different topic.
Trying to make the bad news a little easier can be found many places...a teacher telling a student that a standardized test will be a breeze; a bitter medicine ground up and masked with grape jelly or mixed in fruit juice; a wife telling a husband that her leaving the marriage for another man will "set him free to find true love; a parent telling a teenager she is going miss the "best party ever" because of a family reunion; a pastor telling a family to feel better knowing the loss of their child is a gain for heaven. At some point in our lives, we have all been the givers and receivers of words such as these. We have all tried to help it "go down easier" with a little smoke and mirrors.
So, I am left wondering...Why the dishonesty? Who benefits? Why do we tell someone it will be alright or that it won't hurt when we all know it will? Are we trying to help the person we're hurting or are we trying to make ourselves feel better about causing the pain? Would we have felt these events differently had there been some honesty? Shots hurt. Sometimes life hurts. At what point in our growing up should someone just be honest and tell us "this is going to be totally painful and you are going to hate me for it, but it has to be done." Is 8 years old too early?