“That’s not fair, he got the bigger piece,” she looked at me and she was almost crying. It was true, he had the bigger piece and once again I became the referee in a sibling’s rivalry.

It’s always the same when these two come to visit me. Spider and her brother love each other dearly, but they can fight like cats and dogs over small stuff. They are neighbor kids and they love to stop by my workshop. 

They are always hungry and try to find something to eat. They know where my cookie stash is and they know the secret place where I hide my chocolate. I don’t hide it from them, I hide it from myself. Out of sight – out of mind, and it works, I forget about it, if I don’t see it.

I had an apple and a candy bar that day and as usual they couldn’t make up their little minds. Both wanted a piece of each –of course, because life just refuses to be simple.

It would be so much easier if one would eat the candy bar and the other the apple. Nope, it doesn’t work like that. The apple and the candy bar have to be divided into two pieces and that’s when they start fighting. “My piece is smaller than yours,” they argue and try to convince each other to trade –what never works.

Not so long ago I visited a friend of mine and that day I learned a valuable lesson. I watched her with her Grandchildren as they shared an apple, but to my surprise there was no whining and no arguing. What an eye-opener it was.

After that I couldn’t wait for my little friends to visit me; I wanted to try my new found wisdom. They tested my patience for almost 2 weeks, then the door flew open and Spider and her brother marched in my workroom and sat down on my desk.

Both started talking at the same time and updated me on their lives and their problems. They played awhile with the dogs and rummaged through my stuff and then started to look around for a snack.

I had a banana and a chocolate bar on my desk and I offered it to them. “Who wants what?” I asked and played their little game.

They couldn’t make up their minds and they decided to share it –as usual.

But this time I was prepared. “OK here is the banana…one of you cuts – the other one chooses.”

At first they looked at me like I had lost my mind, but then they went for it and I witnessed a small miracle. It took a while, there was a lot of eyeballing and measuring involved, but they cut the banana and the chocolate bar in two equal pieces and there was no fighting and no arguing.

One cuts, the other one chooses…now that’s brilliant and fair, why didn’t I come up with that?

Divide