A woman’s daughter called her from a house party with what sounded like a normal question: “Hey Mom, can we order a pepperoni pizza?”
They had already eaten dinner. The mom, who posts on Threads as @ano_ny_mous02, explained in a March 15 post that the family has three code words for moments like this. “Vegetable” meant her daughter was okay and just checking in. “Cheese” meant call back in five minutes with an excuse to come home. “Pepperoni” meant come get her immediately.
“I didn’t ask questions. I didn’t ask who was there. I just drove,” she wrote.
Her daughter got in the car. “They started taking pills,” she whispered. They drove home in silence.
“Codes work because they bypass the panic,” the mom wrote.
Why codes?
A kid who wants out of a party usually has two bad choices: either explain to the friends why they’re leaving or make up an excuse on the spot with everyone listening. A pizza order sounds like nothing, and the parent takes the blame for ending the night.
Parents in the replies said they planned to set up their own versions.
“This post inspired me to sit down and talk to my kids about instituting this code. They are 9 and 7. Thank you,” wrote @skye_historyinmotion.
Another had been doing it for decades. “I did this with my daughter, too. She’d call, I’d come, no questions. She’s 37 and a mom who now does this with her 13-year-old son,” wrote @rarasravels.
“I will never forget my dad saying ‘You can call me anytime of day and I will come pick you up: no questions asked,’” wrote @mbjukebox.
