Mix-ups are a normal thing. We’ve all made mistakes every once in a while. We’ve all accidentally put groundnut shells in the plate and the nuts in the trash, or hot water in the milk container instead of the cup.

It’s a common mix-up.

But there are some mistakes that should never be made. Ever.

This story involves children, a door, an amused parent and a disgraced individual (me).

My family is big on quality time. We decided every few weeks, all extended members should congregate in the elder’s house. (The elders being our grandparents of course). It’s usually a rowdy time for every female above ten years old, so I never actually look forward to it.

Imagine cooking for over twenty people every day – breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in-between, 24 hours a day seven days a week for three weeks.

A woman’s nightmare.

Anyways, there we were in the grand home, little children all over the place and in every nook and cranny (If you weren’t careful, you’d probably have stepped on a child or two).

There were parents there too but of course, they weren’t present as often. I was used to just noisy little children and grumpy preteens and only two people I could actually relate with.

During that period, the children made it a habit to run outside and leave the front door open. It was incredibly annoying because open doors meant lots of flies and other creatures I don’t even want to think about. I was constantly shouting “Shut the door!” or “Who left the door open?” but they never learnt to shut the darned door. It just added to the pent-up frustration from hours in the kitchen and piles of chores.

One day, I had had enough. I walked out of my room to see that the door was once again left wide open. This time, there was even a wedge to keep it from closing again. I was so angry.

Honestly, what is it with kids and obeying instructions? You have one job!

 I didn’t notice that my uncle was sitting at the dining table, only a little bit hidden from my view. Without thinking, (or observing), I marched to where they were all gathered around the TV watching some ‘stupid’ cartoon and then with a voice loud enough to be heard by even the neighbors I asked, “Who was the idiot that left this door open?!”

I should have realized something was wrong when they didn’t start scurrying around to shut the door like scared little mice. I should have known something was out of place when they started laughing and looking at me like I had grown two heads. I immediately felt embarrassed but I didn’t know why.

I stood in front of these children like a complete moron until one of the teenagers had the decency to tell me, “It was my dad that opened the door,” the boy gestured towards the dining table where my uncle sat quietly looking at me with a small smile on his face. “He said he was hot.”

“Oh” I muttered under my breath as I crept slowly to my room leaving the sound of giggles behind me.

My uncle never talked about that day and I was grateful. I even managed to ignore the door whenever I noticed it was open and to this day I always make sure to ask questions before I start yelling.

You might want to do that too.