Friday, December 28, 2007

* My husband, my hero





Hey there,



This lovely gift, is what we woke up to this morning. All month long, we have had snow, warm weather, snow, etc. This is the first time that we have been able to accumulate more than a few inches at one time. We had two inches from Wednesday, and last night, we got another four inches. Unfortunately, everyone woke up today feeling yucky with sniffles, and headaches, and coughs. So there will be no snow play today. Instead, I think that we'll all snuggle down inside and enjoy the view. Feels like a good day to snuggle.


After the past few days, I think we could all use a nice quiet day. Yesterday was absolute insanity. In addition the the usual kids from the hood, two of my grand kids, Christian and Ana, called and asked if they could come and play (which means sleepover) on Wednesday. I woke up yesterday morning and was barely able to recognise my own house. In addition the the wreckage that results from having a house full of teens/preteens during the Christmas week, Peter had managed to search out and destroy several Christmas gift boxes - all over my living room. (Of course, they were very dangerous looking boxes.) So I decided that pills, or no pills, the house needed to be cleaned. I started upstairs and worked my way down. By the time I reached the second level, (living room/kitchen) I concluded that Princess had fallen off the chair and into the Christmas tree one too many times, so I set about the task of dis-assembling the very sad looking tree.


As I ventured into the basement to bring up the boxes, I found that our main sewer drain, which also serves the other half of our duplex, had backed up all over the basement floor. Since backed up floor drains are NOT in my contract, Roy spent the next 8 hours conducting an activity that seemed to me, to be very much like a military training exercise. Phone calls were made, high level, executive decisions were made, weapons were gathered, and Roy rallied his troop of teenage boys to enter into combat. He began barking orders and plans were laid for the assault.

"Jake, take another man with you, and make your way out to the truck. I need my tool box, my leather gloves, a flashlight, and the hand held 20 foot snake. Be careful men, don't let yourselves be seen, and get back here right away!"

"Khris, you move those animal carriers and boxes, Take cover in that spot under the steps, and prepare for incoming! Damn it, man ! wear your night goggles ! We don't know what this drain will throw at us !"

After a few hours of deafening noises, cursing, and general chaos; the situation was upgraded to def con 4. More phone calls were made, additional troops were called in, and they broke out the heavy artillery. Scott's truck had just pulled into the drive, and several of our boys were frantically unloading ominous equipment. Moments later, Christian appeared at the top of the stairs, and civilian instructions were given.

"Call Khris' parents, next door! Alert them to the situation, tell them to stock up on bottled water, and to shut down all water routes both in and out of their home. This is NOT a drill !!"

I did my best to remain calm. As I nervously plucked shiny ornaments off the tree, the sky began to darken, and floor beneath my feet began to shake. The roar of heavy equipment filled the air, and the smell was slowly beginning to find it's way to the upper levels of the house. The dogs were becoming frantic, and the girls were complaining about the smell. In the midst of cleaning, repacking Christmas decorations, and answering the phone, I was instructed to relocate the children and canines to the upper levels of the house for safety.

Finally, around 10:30 pm, I had accomplished my mission for the day. I had the the tree down, the furniture rearranged, the room cleaned, and vacuumed, and all the Christmas decorations packed into boxes and waiting in the kitchen to be moved down stairs. Half an hour later, there was a silence followed by a shout of triumph. Roy and his men made their way up the stairs with a section of tree roots triumphantly held over their head. My poor husband was soiled, weary and only slightly injured. I would have hugged him for his bravery and courage, but he smelled like a sewer.

While the boys showered and scavenged the kitchen for food, I began hauling boxes to the basement. When I got to the bottom of the steps, I set down the boxes and looked around. My nice orderly, organised basement which serves as my art room, laundry room, and storage area, looked as if a war really had taken place ! There was was not a single item that hadn't been moved, and in some cases, toppled over and emptied. Black, wet, soiled gloves, tools and equipment were strewn everywhere. The only item that hadn't been touched was the broom. If I could have found a little red button to blow the whole house to hell, I would have pushed it. Instead, I spent the next several hours cleaning the basement and then the kitchen.

Finally, at 4:30 am, I put on a pot of coffee for my hubby, and headed upstairs to bed. Jasmin picked up Christian and Ana last night around 9 pm, so it's just the kids and me today. We all slept until Noon, and we will continue doing nothing for the rest of the day. I'm not even going to cook. I think we have earned our day off. If I knew where to find a purple heart, I'd pin one on his chest when he gets home tonight.

I hope that everyone else a has a day as lazy, and blissfully uneventful as mine !

Love to all,

Susan

4 howled back:

Anonymous said...

I bet he would settle for a nice long wet sloppy kiss over the pinned medal! If you use your imagination, I bet you'll find other venues of reward for Roy too!!

I must admit that is an amazingly familiar story to our sewer escapade a few months back... except it involved the former assistant's apartment...LOL...couldn't have happened to a better person in that case!

Hope today has gone better and the smell is diminishing.

-C

Anonymous said...

this was your best post ever! I loved it so much :)

I'm glad the crisis was reckoned with.. a house that smells like a toilet is not a house that is happy. I know.

I'm going to catch up on your posts I missed,

love mel

Anonymous said...

ok, I just caught up with some older posts - and I found our darling friend Christopher trying to MAKE JOKES ABOUT MY ACCENT BEING FUNNIER THAN A KANSAS ONE!

Hello! Aussies don't have the accents, it's the Americans and the British and the New Zealanders.

Susan, you're voice was sweeter than the one's we hear on TV over here, and not as drawled out in that over the top Southern way that we hear over here as well ( just like you guys probably hear aussies saying, "Onya mate" and "she'll be beauty bonza eh") hahahah.

Next time we'll do a three way phone conversation. Kinky! and no one will get a word in edge ways :)

Unknown said...

Wonderful outcome, Susan! My commendation to General Roy!