At the End of One's Rope

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The Jones’s housekeeper was completely useless! Poor Mrs. Jones felt that she was at the end of her rope when she walked into the house and saw the children crying and unfed, dirty dishes in the sink, and clothes strewn all over the place. She had had to leave the house and children in someone else’s care while she was off on business. Now that she came back to all of this disorder and disarray, she felt that she had reached the limit of her ability to cope with the situation.