You're in a Pickle

"You're in a pickle. Just say sorry and get out of it!"

This little line still makes us laugh! Louisa was still relatively young when she first piped up with it in a moment of tension. Whenever I asked a family member a question, and they hmm'ed and hah'ed and made an excuse, she would quip: "You're in a pickle. Just say sorry and get out of it!" And right she was! Excuses are just that, excuses . . . not the answer that mother needs.

It's amusing how we try to save face. Pride must be our reason, but it is refreshing to hear honest answers instead. I would always rather hear a plain, "No, I didn't do it yet. I'm sorry" than a cover story about why not and whose fault it was and more.

To take the blame—when the blame is rightly yours—is a noble thing to do. No alibi, no explanation, just a pure and simple admission that something went wrong and the fault was yours. That person has integrity and I admire that!

I'm thankful for a child's crystal clear perception of the situation. Whenever anyone in our family starts to weave an excuse, someone says with a chuckle: "You're in a pickle. Just say sorry and get out of it!" It is so refreshing to stop trying to save face.