Instead, I heard yelling, something crash, and a child shout, “He touched my dinosaur!”
Then another voice screamed, “I had it first!”
Balancing the food against my hip, I pushed open the door and stopped in the hallway.
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Family conflict resolution
Christmas family gatherings
Rachel’s three children were everywhere.
Seven-year-old Noah was hiding beneath the dining table. Five-year-old Emma stood crying beside an overturned laundry basket. Two-year-old Caleb was balanced on a kitchen chair, holding a wooden spoon above his head.
Mom stood in the middle of the kitchen with one hand pressed to her lower back, staring between a boiling pot and cereal scattered across the floor.
She looked beyond tired.
She looked completely overwhelmed.
I set down the takeout, lifted Caleb off the chair, turned off the burner, and moved the pot.
“Mom, what are Rachel’s kids doing here?”
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She closed her eyes and let out a long breath.
“Please turn off the stove before anything burns.”
“I already did.”
Mom lowered herself into a chair with a painful wince.
“How often does this happen?”
“Well,” she began, “Rachel often drops them off in the morning and asks me to watch them for an hour.”
