The Hour of Truth

What is it between the hour of 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. that turns sweet children into shrieking monkeys and hyenas? At 4:00 I begin to think about fixing supper, getting the living room cleaned up for the night, putting the final touches on any on-going projects. Suddenly I am ambushed by a smelly leaking diaper running down the hall, baby eating crumbs under the table, the 4 & 6 yr. olds playing house hide-and-seek. I manage to get a pot of water on to boil by 4:30. At 4:45, the water is boiling over, the phone ringing, a smelly leaking diaper crawling down the hall, and the 2, 4 & 6 yr. olds are wrestling on the living room floor. At 4:55, noodles are finally in the pot, the baby is howling in the pack-and-play, the 4 & 6 yr. old are throwing all the toys from the living room into a bedroom, and the 2 year old wants to sit on the potty. At 5:05, "Daddy's home!" The wild animals turn back into little children, running and crawling with smiles to meet him at the door. In 5 more minutes I have the noodles on the table and the sauce heated up. The table is set, four precious heads are bowed for the blessing. My eyes meet my husband's. He'll never know how close he came to take-out!