When the stakes are high

Kenny Rogers knew what he was singing about when he sang: 'You gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away.' If only I had folded before the stakes got too high!

It all started when my eldest daughter came to me sporting an almost empty box of chocolates. 'Someone has been sneeking into my room, and stealing my chocolates!' she told me. After some careful consideration we narrowed the number of suspects down to her three brothers, her sister and my husband.

First I went after my husband, but even though his stomach told a different story than his lips, I decided he was innocent. Which left us with four suspects. Unfortunately they were very convincing liars, and I just couldn't tell which one of them was a liar. It was then that I made my mistake, and raised the stakes to the unfortunate level they're at today.

'This is not how we do things in our family!' I told them. 'We should be able to trust each other, because without trust, what do we have? No trust! So, until one of you fesses up: No More Screentime for you!'
That shook them to their core. For a while they huddled in the kitchen, unsure of what to do next now that they couldn't turn to their little screens. 'One of them is bound to crack!' I whispered hopefully to my husband.

But the thing is, that was yesterday, and no one has come forward yet. Instead they're playing old fashioned games like Monopoly. Which is a nice bonus. But I've played my trump card, and now they're calling my bluff. With the stakes this high I can't afford to fold.

If only I had known when to fold them, and to walk away...