121 FOOD FIGHT ARIEL’S POV ONE YEAR AGO 1 had just finished a long day at work and was looking forward to coming home and relaxing. As I walked up to the front door, I could hear giggles and squeals coming from inside. I immediately knew that my three–year–old twins, Lukel and Janice, were up to something. As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted with a sight that made my jaw drop. My once–tidy living room was now covered in a layer of food. There were bits of crackers, pieces of fruit, and even some spaghetti noodles scattered all over the floor. And in the middle of it all were my mischievous twins, laughing and throwing food at each other. “Lukel, Janice, what on earth are you two doing?” I asked, trying to keep my cool. “We’re having a food fight, Mommy!” Lukel exclaimed with a big grin. I couldn’t help but chuckle at their innocent response. But then I remembered that I would have to clean up this mess, and my laughter quickly turned into frustration. “Okay, that’s enough. We need to clean this up before Andre and the others come home,” I told them, trying to sound stern. However, before I could even approach them, they both seized a handful of spaghetti and hurled it directly in my face. I stood there, completely covered in food, trying to process what had just happened. “Lukel, Janice, that’s not funny!” I scolded, trying to wipe the food off my face. But instead of looking guilty, they both burst into a fit of laughter. And in that moment, I couldn’t help but join in. I mean, how could I resist their infectious laughter? So I grabbed a handful of crackers and threw them at them, starting a full–blown food fight. We were all laughing and squealing as we chased each other around the room, throwing food at every opportunity we got. I didn’t care about the mess or the fact that I would have to spend hours cleaning it up. In that moment, all that mattered was spending quality time with my kids and creating memories that we would cherish forever. ‘After a few minutes, we all collapsed onto the couch, panting and covered in food. Lukel and Janice looked at me with big, innocent eyes, probably expecting me to be mad at them. But instead, I just laughed and pulled them into a big hug. “You two are a handful, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I said, smiling at thean. And as I looked around at the messy living room, I felt grateful for my crazy, chaotic, and absolutely wonderful life with my twins. And before I knew it, André stepped foot inside the house. “What in the world happened around here?” He asked, scanning everywhere. No kidding, the house was really messed up. My heart sank as I saw Andre’s expression. I was sure he was going to scold us for the mess we had created. Well, something like that. Apparently, this was his parents‘ house, and those folks weren’t going to take this lightly. But to my surprise, he just stood there, staring at us in silence for a few minutes. 1 nervously looked at Lukel and Janice, expecting them to start crying at any moment. But to my relief, they just giggled and looked back at Andre with their innocent eyes. And then suddenly, Andre let out a loud scream. “Food fight!” And after that, towards the kitchen. I was taken aback for a second, but then I realized what was happening. I couldn’t help but laugh as Andre grabbed a handful of spaghetti and threw it at me. Lukel and Janice joined in, throwing food at me as well. I quickly grabbed a bowl of mashed potatoes and threw it back at them, hitting André right in the face. He looked at me with mock shock and then started laughing. The four of us were now engaged in a full–blown food fight, laughing and screaming as we threw food at each other. The living room was now a complete mess, but I didn’t care. I was having the time of my life with my family. At one point, I looked over at Andre and saw him covered in food, still laughing and chasing the kids around. And in that moment, I was reminded of the great and lovely man that he was. He was my partner, but he was perfect and acted like a wonderful father to our children, always ready for a little fun and adventure. After a while, we all fell onto the floor, completely exhausted and covered in food. But the laughter and joy in our hearts made it all worth it. And sitting right there, catching our breaths, I had to think about how lucky I was to have such a loving and playful family. I may have had a long day at work, but *this food fight was exactly what I needed to unwind and reconnect with my loved ones. We were all still covered in food, with delightful smiles all over our faces. I knew that this would be a memory that we would never forget. A memory that we would laugh about for years to come. And, of course, more wonderful memories are yet to come. More to reminisce, more to think about. There is more to talk about and more to laugh about. Yeah, I said that before. Elizabeth entered the house, making a phone call. But she paused the moment she discerned the living room and how it was so messed up. Her eyes narrowed down to the four of us lying on the floor. “I’ll call you back,” she said before ending the call. Andre, Ariel. What happened here?” “We were just having some fun,” Andre answered, sitting on the floor. “And by fun, you mean this?” Elizabeth gestured everywhere. Almost everywhere. “Of course. Anything wrong with that?” Andre queried, raising an eyebrow. I hit him silently, and he whispered, “It’s okay.” “I’ll show you guys some real fun,” Elizabeth said, and she walked away from us, making her way to the kitchen. “What do you think she’s going to do?” I asked André. He shrugged. Seconds later, Elizabeth came back with a pot of noddle soup. She poured it over the four of us, leaving us in surprise, and she laughed hysterically. Andre and I were frozen in shock, our bodies drenched in soup. But before we could even process what had happened, Elizabeth was already running back to the kitchen, grabbing more food. I looked over at Andre, who was still in shock but managed to crack a smile. ” Well, I guess this is what we signed up for when we decided to have a food fight,” he told me, laughing. I couldn’t help but join in; the absurdity of the situation just added to the fun. But before we could retaliate, Lukel had already joined in, throwing food at Elizabeth with a huge grin on his face. We all laughed and shrieked as the food flew everywhere, not caring about our mess. At one point, Elizabeth even grabbed a can of whipped cream and sprayed it all over us, adding to the chaos. We were all covered in food, but it didn’t matter. At that moment, we were just a carefree family, enjoying each other’s company and making the most of our time together.
