A mom’s gotta be pretty sharp…

to stay ahead of boys. And even a semi conscious state of prayer blesses a mom and gives practical wisdom. I have to stop and thank the LORD often for His intercession on my behalf. I suppose I’d lose my mind, otherwise—that, or I’d sure lose a lot of ground each day.

It was out on the counter… I know, probably beckoning the boys to go by and take a piece or two. And, you know, it wouldn’t have been so noticeable had a knife not been utilized in the removal of bit of the ham. I’d probably hardly take notice of a couple of bits of ham missing. But the knife… that was blatant. So I told the few gathered around me that there are just some lessons in life that need to be learned—not to just hear, but to hear and heed!

So, I had to use some “boy examples” to get my point across—and mom’s have to talk quick, keep rapt attention and be relevant. Well… I remembered that after I gave a couple of girl examples—one being, the example of having six hard-boiled eggs in a pan and an egg plate that will hold 12 deviled eggs. If a boy comes in and eats just one of the boiled eggs, the egg dish will not be complete. So I told them that when things are on the counter, you can just look at them… no touching. Like—don’t touch the eggs or when there’s a ham on the counter and you see it is sitting next to the soup kettle on the stove, don’t touch it—it’s got a use. Well, I saw that I was met with sort of glazed eyes and I could sort of see there might be a response coming… “And so, would you have to boil more?” I nodded and squinted a bit and said, “yes, yes you would.”

Okay… it was time to utilize man sort of logic… so I told them, it’s sort of like hood ornaments on big guys’ trucks. You just don’t touch em. They are not even to be used, in reality. They’re just to look at—it’s something everyone knows: you just don’t touch them. If you’re building a picket fence and you need one hundred pickets, if I just come by and take a couple for some woodstove kindling, that will totally wreck finished appearance of the fence you’re attempting to complete. If you go to someone’s home, do you just go in and start eating their foods? If you’re making a pan of brownies, and I just come a take away the egg (and you don’t have anymore) then you cannot make the brownies.

“Oooo, that’d be so terrible.”

Seeing that I was getting somewhere, I noticed a sparkle in the eyes of one of the boys. And then he gave me an example he’d heard. He told me that guys have to learn when they get married that there are two kinds of towels in the bathroom. Some you use and some you never use. You gotta get that straight: the ones you never use.

I nodded. And I said, “Okay, then keep it straight: there’s some stuff you just don’t touch. Ever. And if you can, I’ll let you know.” That boy said, ” Or my wife will.”

I said, “Right… but get it straight before that happens. And… leave the rest of the ham alone… it’s for the soup for dinner.”

Elation in the kitchen… it’s hailing outside!