I was in the bathroom when the girls announced, "Mom! We're locked out of our room!" (A mother doesn't even find refuge in her bathroom.)
"Okay," I replied calmly. "Go get a butter knife."
Minutes later the girls wailed again. "Mooom! It won't work!" Panic and desperation were starting to enter their voices; I could tell they'd soon be in tears. "What are we going to do?" they cried. I, however, was busy doing something else at the moment.
"I'll be right there," I said without emotion. I took the butter knife into my own hands and voila--I was able to unlock the doors with ease.
"HA!" I exclaimed.
"What?!" my daughter asked.
"I can't believe that worked!"
"What?" she asked incredulously. Why would I have sent her for a butter knife if I didn't think it would work? The answer is I was just stalling for time, honestly. I just wanted them to leave me alone for a minute until I could finish what I was doing and deal with their problem.
"I had no idea a butter knife would actually opened your locked door," I explained to her. "I was just pretending like I knew what I was doing."
She couldn't believe it, but it was true. I didn't know what I was doing; I was totally bluffing. Inside, I had felt a touch hopeless and panicky, too. I can't believe that butter knife trick actually worked. HA! It tricked them and me, too.
