They think they are so sneaky.

As if you can’t see the crumbs all over their face. As if you can’t see the glow of the iPad under the covers. As if they are capable of doing anything quietly, let alone get down the hall and into the pantry without you hearing them…as if their giggles don’t give them away. As if the security system doesn’t tell you that they got back after curfew. As if it’s not incredibly obvious when they’re lying. As if you can’t clearly see the car has a lot less gas in it. As if you can’t check the browser history.

They think they are sneaky but they are absolutely horrible at it. They have absolutely no future as criminals, that’s for sure.

But you know what? Suddenly, one day it’ll hit you that this game has ended. Suddenly they’re no longer trying to sneak stuff by you. Suddenly, it’s not your job to check anymore. You don’t care what they eat before dinner. You don’t care if they stay in your room. What they do in private is their business.

And while some of these rules and boundaries matter deeply, let’s not lose sight of how lovely this back-and-forth really is. Let’s take a moment to appreciate how beautifully our roles mirror each other, like that scene in Heat where De Niro and Pacino sit down and chat for a few minutes. There’s a mutual understanding and enjoyment between them, an appreciation that they need each other to play these roles—that they both love playing these roles.

So it is with us and our children. Those little moments of trying to outsmart each other, of trying to get one over on the other? It’s part of what makes parenting so much fun. Maybe it’s wise not to admit as such to kids until they’re older—but let’s at least admit it to ourselves. And enjoy it while we can.