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Saturday, January 03, 2009

At least I have cheesecake.

I was prepped and ready to sit down at the computer this evening and tell you all this little story about this sweet young couple I passed in the store this afternoon. They were holding hands. He was pushing the cart and she was leaning into him as they walked, both of them grinning -- obviously in love, or at the very least quite smitten with each other. They were talking and laughing, and as I watched, she grabbed a bag of cheetos off the shelf and tossed it in the basket. It was the only item they'd selected, so far, and she did this kind of happy dance as she grabbed the bag of cheetos. It made me smile.

When was the last time I felt such delight at a simple bag of cheetos?

More often, I'm weighing my options, trying to gauge how much money I have left to spend or contemplating what I can purchase that will feed a family of five healthy and nutritious meals for more than just a day or two. A few years of life under the belt and a once romantic little trip to the grocery store becomes something serious... a complicated mission... a chore full of weighty decisions and choices to be made.

Anyway, that's the story I was going to tell you.

But my daughter was headed to the shower about the time I was getting ready to tell you this story, and she came back complaining that the water wouldn't get hot.

"Of course, the water won't get hot," I'm thinking... "because hubby and I have been patting ourselves on the back for the things we've managed to accomplish with the house this past year and we've been outlining our plans for the house in the coming year... and plumbing was not exactly high on the agenda."

I was thinking total water heater failure, yet another appliance to be replaced.

Unfortunately, it was more along the lines of total sewer backup into the basement. Backup so deep that it doused the pilot light to our water heater and was creeping up on our brand new heat pump.

"Of course it's the sewer," I start thinking instead... "because it's a Saturday night and these kinds of things never happen when it's convenient to call in a plumber at regular rates."

A few phone calls later, we learn that Mr. Roto-Rooter can't help us out until Monday... afternoon.

So we mulled our options, went in search of a sump pump (I can't believe Wal-Mart doesn't carry sump pumps - they carry everything else!), and finally lined up the family brigade style to bail water from our basement (have I mentioned that my kids rock?).

It wasn't a lot of fun, but now we can keep the heater on tonight. No laundry, no dishes, no showers... until our little problem is fixed. I guess I'm always looking for an excuse not to do these things, at least, the laundry and dishes.

The good news (there's always good news, right?) is that while at the store today, I bought all the ingredients for my favorite--sinful--mocha chocolate chip cheesecake. I didn't quite dance with delight as I tossed the ingredients into the cart, but I certainly did a little dance as I was licking the bowl clean once the pie pans were filled.

I've got no hot water. The house is going to be a real mess by the time the roto-rooter guy comes (we were already behind on laundry). But hey... I have cheesecake.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was worth a good laugh! (Not the plumbing problems, of course, but the stories) Love your humor! It makes for a great Pick-me-up first thing in the morning!

Cap'n Franko said...

Wow! That tops any home disaster story we've had! Hope y'all get it all cleared up Monday!