Sally huffed. Sandy bristled. You don't go after one without taking on the other. They've been ganging up on me since they were old enough to know how.

This is usually the point where Mum steps in and, like clockwork, she did. I don't mean that to sound disrespectful but when you've lived your whole life with someone and you've been through this conversation a million times before you have a pretty good idea what people are going to do.

"All of you," she stated, her voice flat and firm. She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to. But what she did do was put a hand on my...