The secret life of grown-ups...

This post is largely addressed to our readership under the age of ten. Pull up a chair. I'm about to give you the real scoop.

As a kid, I always suspected that grown-ups had more fun after they put us shorter people to bed. I tried unsuccessfully to confirm my theory by catching them in the act.

I would wander out into the living room, lifting my eyebrows high because I thought that would show my mom that I was wide awake in case she wanted to ask me to join the party with my aunts and uncles. Instead, she would quickly usher me back to my bed... even after I explained how parched my throat was and that I liked water from the kitchen (other side of the living room) better. No luck.

So I never got a good look at what the grown-ups were doing after the kids were put to bed. But I sure did hear it. Bottles of Coke being opened, loud rounds of laughter, popcorn popping, movies with serious music, my dad cracking jokes... and sometimes I even heard the freezer door being opened. Ice cream.

The unfairness was overwhelming.

Well kids, I'm here reporting back to you as a grown-up that my suspicions have been confirmed. After you are tucked into bed, we do bust out the big servings of good dessert, the fun games and the movies you can't watch. And sometimes (like last night) we even make a late-night trip to get ice cream.

But don't worry, kids. Someday you'll be an aunt or uncle and you'll be able to pull the same trickery on your nieces and nephews.