Little White Lie

Remember a few posts ago, I wrote of the bedtime routine for Kyra?  How we read, rock & then I put her down awake & leave?  This is totally true... I just left out one crucial step.  The Little White Lie.  Each night after I put BOTH children in their respective beds, I tell them I love them, I'll see them in the morning and "I'll be back in 5 minutes to check on you."  

It's a true fact that I check on both children before I go to bed - I have to turn off Henry's globe light & be sure he is under his covers.  I have to be sure that Kyra's blanket is on her and remove whatever she asked to bring to bed with her (normally a book).  The lie part is that I don't come back in FIVE minutes... depending on how tired I am and what's on TV, I come back in 30 minutes, 60, sometimes 90 minutes later.  Of course, they never know and they never ask.

But I feel kinda bad about this - because each night when I say these words, I know it is a lie and I know that I don't want to lie to my children... but is it a lie if they never find out?