Curls & Capes

The Best Secret Code Ever!

Posted on November 25, 2014

I loved secret codes!  As a kid in school I would go to great lengths to remake the entire alphabet into something new and original. Just the idea that I had unknown knowledge was intoxicating to me. Sometimes the new code would be so sophisticated it was rendered useless. It was too much fun, and I would make them over and over again.

People use codes all the time. Parents use them to keep their children in the dark about certain things. Simple codes like spelling the words out now that Junior knows what they mean, or talking in a foreign language to keep them from knowing what we are saying. We have looks in our eyes that convey secret messages; gestures that keep things hidden from the uninitiated. Codes have their place and purpose. They can be extremely practical.

I remember putting my code making skills to use while our kids were still young. This particular code wasn’t like the codes I mentioned before. Nope! This code was different. It was uncommonly simple. It had but one meaning to it. It could never be misunderstood, and it was subtle. So subtle that even the few who knew its meaning might miss it when it was given. Until now only a few have known of its existence.

I first taught the code to Marm. After that I taught it to each of the kids one-by-one once they were old enough to understand. To this day we still use the code as a reminder of something very important. When the time comes I will teach it to all our grandkids if their parents haven’t done so by then.

Want to know what it is? Well…

It was a nice day outside and Annie and I were holding hands while we walked across the Wal-Mart parking lot toward the store entrance. We were maybe 20-30 feet from going in when I introduced Annie to the code. Once I had done it she looked up at me puzzled. “Why did you do that Daddy” she asked me. We stopped where we were and I explained to her what it meant.

“Sweetheart, when I take my middle finger and scratch it against the palm of the hand I’m holding,  I’m telling you I love you.” She beamed with understanding.

Just as we were entering the store I felt a little finger scratching against the palm of my hand. I looked down to see her bright face looking up into my eyes. Had I been struck dead at that moment, I’d have died a happy man.

And so it went, Aaron was taught the code. Abbey was taught the code. Amber and Amy were both taught the code. At any given time, anywhere, anyone in our family could be secreting telling each other that they were loved and no one else around would know the difference. I always loved it when unannounced I would scratch a palm and within a second or two feel the little finger scratching me back. Not a word was spoken, but worlds of meaning had been successfully communicated. “I love you!”

Now you know the code. It’s simple. Be encouraged to use it, abuse it, and share it with the ones you love. It truly is the best secret code ever!