It's that stressful time of day between 5 and 6:30 PM when everyone is hungry, Rick, my hubby, will be home from work at anytime, the house is a mess despite working all day, and the kids are laying on the couch watching some absurd, brain rotting show on Nickelodeon. I'm however am in the kitchen, kickin' it in high gear, trying my best to keep it all together. I reach into my junk drawer to get my scissors and.....THEY'RE GONE!!!

That's it, the last straw fell..."WHERE ARE MY SCISSORS!!!!" The kids look this way. I repeat the same phrase, this time banging both fists on the counter for more emphasis. "GET UP, GET UP, GET UP, FIND MY SCISSORS NOW!" My 3 precious offspring jump up in fear and begin scurrying. I grip the counter and try to "breath it down" like I learned in child birthing classes. It was too late for my essential oils. I could tell my breathing techniques were going to fail me today as they did in the labor room each time. There was no epidural for this pain however! Beyond my control I needed release. It needed out. I tried to hold back but it was going to win. I grabbed the underside of my chin and tore back my "sweet gentle mother" mask. I rolled my head around backwards and side to side morphing into this creature I've yet to tame. " I..... NEED...... MY......SCISSOOOOOOORS!" said in an echoing low voice. Then the rant began...

"How am I supposed to make you all a healthy dinner without scissors? The Dinner Creations package clearly states that I am supposed to cut the package open with a tiny pair of scissors. I am not to tear it, or cut it with a knife, and unlike other people around here I try to follow the rules. Do you see me taking your important things and breaking or hiding them? Of course not! You leave all your stuff everywhere for me to pick up and put away. All I do all day is carry your junk from one end of the house to the other like a rented mule. I can't take it anymore. ( that's one of my favorites) I can't believe Santa brought you all anything this year. I'm going to get that elf on the shelf some glasses for his birthday, then maybe he'll tell Santa the truth. You know you're supposed to keep your grubby hooks off those scissors. They are MINE, MINE, MINE!!!! ( I stomp my feet sometimes too for added effect). I think I could buy scissors at Walmart every week and I still don't think you could find a pair around this pig sty. Actually, right now I'm going to go and write "scissors" on the top line of every page of the grocery list. So help me (another one of my favorites) when I find those scissors I'm going to... ( thinking about what I'm going to do) I'm going to...(still thinking) I'm going to cut that package open then do something so bad you're going to hate it. Then I, unlike YOU, am going to put the scissors back in the drawer. Yeah, that's what I'm going to do." (I use hand motions too)."

Moments later I saw a shadow toss the scissors on the counter and runoff. Since I don't live in a convenience store and don't have a tape measure extending vertically from floor to ceiling at my back door, I couldn't be positive but I believe the image stood at the approximate height of my middle child. I found them all cowering in the playroom, huddled together gently pushing Haley, my youngest, forward. We are all aware that she gets off a little easy with my tendency to blame her acts of blatant defiance on mere childhood innocence. She is my third and final, after all. I tell them, "I am going to buy my own pair of scissors and keep them hidden and so help me ( see, there again) if you even ask to use them, you'll wish you hadn't". "I don't even care if it is for a school project." "I'll even deny that I own my own, secretly hidden scissors to cut your gauze during a major emergency." (I head-bob too for added effect) "Are you picking up what I'm puttin' down?"

As you see, I did get some new scissors...

They are so sweet I almost wish they came with a holster so I could wear them around, always prepared and ready to cut. They are designed with a comfort grip and a razor edge so sharp it needs a protective sheath. Kudos to the iridescent packaging marketing strategy that grabbed my eye that day. The scissors will be hidden but were clearly marked first. Hopefully, they will be reminded of what went down and how they barely made it out alive, on that cold December day.

Moments after a scenario like the actually benign one described above, my kids seem fine and back to their normal business. It is me however, who stands at the pantry door eating Little Debbie's, filled with guilt and disappointed in my inability to control my anger. After a while, I tell them I'm sorry and remorsefully ask for forgiveness, which they always happily give me. Their unasked for hugs and smiles for me let me know they've moved on.

You AGAIN have compassion on me(us); you will tread my(our) sins underfoot and will hurl all my(our) iniquities into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19 Just like my children, who also know my heart's desire, You let me start over again, like a new fresh day, even if it is 8 PM. I hesitantly reach out to take the gift I undeservingly came seeking. A fresh slate; a gift, knowing that otherwise I'll be stuck in my shame,

unable to move on....

to be better for them....

where I'm the worst....in the walls we surround ourselves with....called home.