I'm working in my office downstairs but am laughing because I just heard my Secret Numbering System working from afar.

For a couple of years now, Naveen (11) and I have a system of generating numbers which can be easily verified by the other. We came up with this because well, his sister Leela (6), gets creative with facts/chores. So if she tells him that I'm calling him or that I said he should go do something, he will only do it if she gives him "the number".

She knows this, so if I need her to call him, she will ask me for a number that she can give to him.

It has been humid and rainy today, and while she wants to go outside and play, he doesn't. So she tried to use "Daddy said you need to come play with me" on him. He asked for a number and she just made one up and he said nope. Then she ran away and started yelling different numbers in case any of them worked.

They didn't and I started cracking up, called her, and gave her a hug <3

We have gone through multiple numbering systems over time. First it was any 2-digit even number (2, 4, 6... 32...), then any prime number under 100 (7, 23, 11, 43...), then any prime number x 2 (14, 46, 22, 86...). Now we're at 3-digit number divisible by 9 + 1 (541, 892, 307...). And obviously no repeating any recent numbers.

Like I always say, when the system works, I don't have to.

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