The Spoon

All my sister & have to say is “the spoon” around my mom and we all crack up.

My sister & I were in BIG trouble one day. So much trouble, Mom sat us down on the living room steps. This is where my parents always sat us when they wanted to talk to us together – I guess the couch was too comfortable and the hard steps were part of the punishment. She had also gotten out the wooden spoon – oh, oh.

So, Mom’s yelling at us. All I can remember right is “blah, blah, blah, AND I MEAN IT!” She smacked that spoon on the top of the knee wall she was leaning on and it split in two!

My sister & I busted up laughing – we couldn’t help it. Thank goodness Mom didn’t have another spoon handy! Fortunately, it was enough to relieve my mom’s anger and she started laughing too.

My mom lost all control over us from then on out. Anytime one of us was doing something that might get us in trouble, the other said, “Better watch it, Mom might get the spoon out.” Laughter would ensue and Mom’s punishments would be lighter. Like being sent to your room for the evening – never mind the TV, telephone & radio we each had.

Silver lining:
1. I learned a valuable lesson that day – spoons are not infallible.
2. I made a mental note not to make my kids rooms so comfortable that it’s not a punishment to be separated from the family for an evening.