# I Thought My Stepfather Was a Paperboy
When I was seven years old, I was absolutely convinced my stepfather was a paperboy.
Not “used to be.”
Not “worked part-time as one.”
No — in my mind, his full-time profession was riding around in the early morning delivering newspapers.
It made perfect sense to me.
Looking back now, it makes absolutely no sense at all.
But childhood logic has its own rules.
And this is the story of how I built an entire reality around a misunderstanding — and what it taught me about perception, family, and the quiet ways adults protect children.
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## The Early Morning Mystery
Every weekday, I would wake up to the faint sound of the front door closing.
Click.
Then silence.
It was still dark outside.
I’d glance at my digital clock — the kind with glowing red numbers — and see something like 4:52 a.m.
That seemed impossibly early.
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