…or not to believe, sometimes that is the question.  Borrowing from Shakespeare the body but not the essence of the question.

People lie, tell truths, half truths, and leave things out.  I could riddle my existence with attempting to decipher what is being said, what is not being said, is what being said the truth.  I could make judgements, come to conclusions, base decisions on what I suspect is being said, inferred, implied, or I could take things at face value.  I am not naive (well, to be honest, I probably am a wee bit).  My children have all lied to me at some point in time.  Sneaking this or that, having done or not done this or that.  When they get caught in their lie, I try to encourage them to realize their mistake was their lie not what they were lying about.  When they admit to something they know I might get angry about, I try to remember to thank them for being honest even if what they did does make me angry or causes me concern.  My kids may still lie to me, but I choose to believe them unless something tells me different.  I am positive I would be doing far more damage to our relationship if I didn’t believe them when they were telling the truth, than if I do believe them when they are telling a lie.