WWF, Secrets and Lattes

I guess it should no longer surprise me when stories are revealed about the happenings in my house when eight kids were left alone for any amount of time. You'd think with my super sleuthy spy skills there would be no unknowns, or maybe I just didn't want to know some things.




We were all in the living room the other night talking about who knows what when my son-in-law let out a secret, a secret that had successfully been kept hidden away for years. It was a secret they had taken a vow never to let out of their mouths. When he first began to speak I looked around the room at the surprised, but smirking, faces of my wolves children.



"I couldn't believe the first time I came over here on a Sunday morning" Justin said with a look of total amazement on his face. The kids sat there quietly smiling. They knew the secret that had been kept behind sealed lips, at least from Jeff and me, was about to be spilled.



I took in a deep breath knowing what I was about to hear wasn't going to be roses and sunshine. You see, Jeff and I go to Starbucks alone every Sunday morning for a little quiet time. We use to marvel at the fact that our kids would sit around on those lazy mornings talking and hanging out with each other. They got along so well and we were incredibly proud of the harmonious family we had raised.



With his eyes wide and his arms in the air Justin continued "As soon as you were out the door everyone jumped up and all of the furniture in the living room was thrown to the sides. One of the kids went to the window to be the lookout and a bell rang. Then two kids were tossed into the middle of the room."



"Oh dear God, kill me now" I thought as I drew in a breath, dropped my head and waited. My face was getting hot and I was thinking I was going to need an Ativan for this one.



"Then they started fighting. Everyone was cheering on the one they had placed bets on."



I put my head in my hands as I pictured the entire chaotic scene.



"One would get hurt and they were pulled from the ring crying. Another kid was thrown into the circle to take on the winner."



The kids began chuckling, they knew they were now too old, or too fast for us to catch and beat.



Nikki piped up proudly "We always rotated being the lookout and when we heard you drive up we'd throw the crying ones into their bedrooms, put all of the furniture back into place, sit down and start talking like nothing was going on."



In a lame attempt to get back into our good graces Michael added "But Mom, we always cleaned the house before the smack down."



My kids aren't a pack of wolves at all. They're Romans, Christians and lions, oh my.