If I don't end up on the news tonight, it will be a miracle! The blowing dirt wreaks havoc on my allergies, and I am powerless without healthy doses of Zyrtec and Claritin. The side effects of these antihistamines include everyone who says your name suddenly causes you to want to beat the irritating right out of them. If you take either of these meds and feel like that, it's not your fault-it's your spouse and children who are inflicting themselves on you in your vulnerable state. For instance, currently one child is throwing a fit because I didn't compliment her artwork with the precise wording she suggested. In "correcting" me, she screamed and repeated herself so much that the words "SHUT UP" were hurled out of my mouth before I could stop them. And when my husband asked me to turn off something outside that I had forgotten to do the night before, it took every bit of my self control not to throw dirty dishes and laundry at him. Don't even get me started on the affairs of my housework right now. I realize I should be folding rather than typing with enough force to send the keys right the  rough the bottom of the keyboard, but if I don't vent, the police will have to come!

I have tried to take less volatile remedies like Benadryl, but then I fall asleep. Yesterday the toddler emptied a bottle of hand soap all over the floor while I was alert and feet away, so I shudder to think what the three of them could do if I were in a Benadryl-induced coma.

And so, rather than pray for patience, I will pray for the wind to stop blowing and for peace in our home. You can help by praying for my kids to be sweet and the house cleaning fairy to be swift.