A life lesson found in a tube of toothpaste

I've had a {cheap} tube of toothpaste stashed in my pantry for several weeks, just waiting for an opportunity to make an appearance.  What?  You don't keep toothpaste in your pantry?  ;)

{As you can see from my dish towels, I'm not sleeping with the enemy.  Ha!}

Before you get to thinkin' I've lost my marbles, servin' toothpaste for dinner, lemme splain...

One day, a fellow twitter mom tweeted an idea, and so I filed it away in my mommy brain for such an occasion.  I wish I could remember who it was, to give credit where credit is due.  Crazy mommy brain.  Oi.

And if you're not tweeting occasionally, you're missing out.  Many of my 'twisters' could sideline as stand-up comedians... and they do it all within 140 characters or less.  Good stuff.  Better stuff than me.  I know.  You're shocked.

Where was I?  Oh, yes, toothpaste... or words.  Yes... words.  That's where I was headed.

It's so easy to speak our thoughts... or even write them; however, it's difficult to take them back, especially if the intent was to hurt.  Intentional or not, those bruises are not quick to diminish, even accompanied with an apology.

No matter how much you wish you could take it back.

Thankfully, it doesn't happen often in our home, but it does happen.

Words are spoken... or written.  Hearts are hurt.  Apologies are made, but the healing takes time.

One cannot put toothpaste back in the tube take words back, even if there is a $10.00 motivation.

I think the lesson here is...

Speak words to others that you would want spoken to yourself....
or something like that.

And if you want money, do your chores, because toothpaste doesn't go back into the tube.

It worked.  Within minutes of this demonstration, our girls were playing happily together once more.  Nator shouted downstairs, "Hey, Mom, your experiment worked!  We are getting along great!"

It was the best 67 cent investment we've ever made.