can you keep a secret

I have a secret.

I have a mad girl crush.

Her name is Laura Linney–“Cathy” on the The Big C.

I know IRL (in real life), the show is currently in its last (abbreviated) fourth season; in my Netflix world, we just wrapped a powerful, highly emotional, oh-my-god-this-show-was-written-for-me season two.

My husband would say I get too emotionally involved with “my” characters. But that’s just good writing and good target audience identification. I mean, who did’t see themselves in Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte &/or Miranda?

But my crush on Laura’s character, Cathy, goes beyond that. You see, in season one, Cathy is diagnosed with cancer. And she decides not to tell anyone. Not her husband. Not her son. Not her family or friends. Instead she flips on the “life”-switch and starts living. I could totally see me doing this.

I realize that for some, keeping a secret is next to impossible. It’s just too juicy. It requires too much willpower. You may hate when someone “burdens” you with their news and then asks you not to discuss it with anyone. You may like that we live in a “spill the beans” society.

My husband can not keep anything secret. He specifically requested not to know the sex of our baby #2 because he knew that he would tell people. I found out, and kept it a secret–from him and the rest of the world for five months.

I can keep a secret. Fortunately, I haven’t had to too many times in my life. And if I received a life-altering diagnosis tomorrow, I would consider keeping it a secret. For a bit.

What about you? Can you keep a secret?