Several weeks ago, Melissa and I sat in the family room on a Sunday afternoon and had a discussion about our babysitters. For those of you that were present, you will recall that Melissa claimed that she picked up one babysitter, and drove another home. The explanation was simple. For their own convenience, they had switched while we were gone. The only problem with the whole idea was that I did not remember things the way Melissa did. I remembered Melissa picking Kyla up, and dropping Kyla off that night. As far as my memory had served, there had been no switch.

I was only slightly disturbed that my memory had been false. I had been both preoccupied and tired that night, and it was certainly possible that I was wrong. After all, she was willing to bet a million dollars, and we all know what a hefty sum that is. I was definitely ready to let it go.

Melissa was not. Fearing that she was truly losing her marbles, the question plagued her whenever she thought about it. After all, she had initiated two very different, detailed conversations designated for two very different people. There was one little piece of evidence that did not add up for her. How does someone get from Spanish Fork to 2320 South in twenty minutes? You’ll have to ask her for the details on that one.

Well, we had Kyla (and only Kyla) over to tend last weekend. We could have probably called Lizzy to tend, but we needed Kyla to set a few things straight. It turns out that Kyla was here the entire time on the night in question. Kyla softened it a bit, saying things like: “I’m pretty sure I was here the whole time, sister Carter” and “Sometimes people get our names mixed up.”

I would have been no more surprised if I had made the goof. I would like to casually point out that not a single person believed my version of the story that day. The jury opted to swallow a tale of switching babysitters and a journey from Spanish Fork just to take care of our relentless children. People really love a good story.

During the discussion, mom pointed out how unreliable eyewitnesses can be. That is the real lesson to be learned. No, Melissa is no less sane than any of us. As humans, most of us try to take comfort in what we know, when we really know far less than we suppose. History is colorfully painted with exquisite disasters and unforgettable misadventures fueled by misconceptions. Poor Gorge Custer could have probably told you all about misconception if he’d lived through his. As a side note, Comanche, one of Custer’s horses, was the only survivor of Little Big Horn. They found him “hiding” in a thicket with seven arrows sticking out of him. Exquisite disasters. . .

Sam