Date: April 29, 2025

Author: Marcus Anderson

If Hell exists, I’m probably already on my way there. And I’ve got a pretty solid reason why. It all started with a holiday dinner, about 15 years ago.

I decided to take my oldest girls to the store to grab everything we needed for the big meal. You know the drill—turkey, potatoes, stuffing, all the essentials. It was supposed to be a peaceful, family bonding trip, just the girls and me, out there shopping together. But of course, teenagers have their own agenda. Instead of picking up the groceries, they started play fighting in the aisles, acting like total maniacs. I’m all for some fun, but this was getting out of hand. They were knocking into displays, knocking over cans, and just making a scene. The place was packed, already overcrowded with people trying to do their own holiday shopping, and now my kids were contributing to the chaos.

I tried to stay calm at first, but they were testing my patience. I kept reminding them to stop, but you know how teenagers are—they didn’t listen. They were in full-on rebellion mode, clearly trying to push my buttons. I was so embarrassed by how they were behaving in public. It wasn’t just bad manners; it was embarrassing as a parent.

Finally, I snapped. I had reached my limit. I exaggerated my speech, stretching my words to make it sound like I was somehow slow or incapable, hoping that it would get their attention. I started softly yelling at them in that over-the-top way you see in movies, trying to make them feel like they’d done something much worse than they had. “Look at how you’re acting!” I shouted, playing it up like I had no control over the situation. I’m not proud of it, but in that moment, it felt like the only way to get them to stop.

And the worst part? It didn’t even work. They didn’t care. They were still laughing, still pushing each other, oblivious to the fact that they were making me lose my mind. As I stood there, half yelling, half embarrassed, I could feel the eyes of other shoppers on me. Some were shaking their heads, others were giving me that look like I was a terrible parent. I could practically feel the judgment rolling off of them.

Looking back, I realize that was a huge mistake. I let my frustration get the better of me, and instead of handling the situation calmly and effectively, I acted like a fool. I was so caught up in how they were making me look that I forgot to focus on how to handle things properly. I should’ve stepped away, calmed down, and talked to them without the theatrics. But no. I made a scene in front of a store full of people.

So yeah, if there’s a place where people go for messing up, this might be my ticket. Maybe it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever done, but it definitely wasn’t my best moment as a parent. I’ll never forget the look of shock on their faces when I blew up, and the way the other shoppers were staring at me like I was the one causing the real problem.

I guess we all have our bad moments, and I’ll just have to live with the fact that this one is probably going to haunt me for a long time.