8 Min. Write Up

I brace myself for the cacophony of noise that will emerge the moment I hit the doorbell. Ding. A moment of silence, and then...footsteps. Lots of footsteps. Chaos.The thud of bodies being pushed against the wall. Giggling and howls of pain. A yell from their mother: pause. Another brief moment of silence...annnnd the noise is back. The door swings open. Heads begin to bounce up and down, as each smiling face says hello. The extremely energetic kids pull me into the house and tell me to take off my shoes. I kick off my pink, glittered sneakers into the large sea of shoes, which covers nearly half of the floor of their family room. "WELL HALLOH, MANDY-MOO!" shouts their equally rambunctious mother. I try to exchange a greeting, but my arms are pulled into the kitchen. As I catch my breath, I get a whiff of fast food. The kitchen permanently smells like french fries.