A Great Day

So as I am rushing to get ready for court this morning when I hear what I think is our garbage disposal. It sounded like it was grinding rocks. It was loud and then nothing. Then I hear Christopher say, "Uh, oh." I peer through the bedroom door with a curious look. Suddenly Chris pops up from behind the counter, "Um, I don't know what that was, but now we have a busted pipe under the sink!" The solution, "Just don't run water on the right side of the sink, and I'll fix it when I get home." Great! Oh, well. I didn't have time to worry about it. I had disgruntled clients and a contested hearing to face, and I was going to be late to them all. I rushed out the door.

I get to court to find that our contested hearing has been reset. Great! The client I was on my way to see was upset because his hearing was reset due to this other matter. Frustration sets in as I scurry down the courthouse steps and across the street. Thoughts are racing through my head. "How am I suppose to explain to my client that the matter that caused me to reset his hearing didn't even happen? And on top of that, opposing counsel has thrown me a curve ball and I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to handle it." At the same time I'm thinking, "I better slow down because I do not want to fall flat on my face again." Upon my arrival to the F.P. Building I am met with a panicked investigator who is working the case and co-counsel's assistant. Then I realize, "Oops, I forgot to update them on the status of the case." Yet I had to appear confident, unfazed and in control, while I met with my client and the five potential witnesses that accompanied him. Why did I choose to wear pink on a day like this? Luckily I had on my brown high heels, in which I could find at least a scintilla of confidence.

After nearly two hours of putting out fires I headed home for lunch. I was starving. When I arrived I found my driveway full of cute but obnoxious children and a distracted mother-in-law, but God love her, she had pizza. Amen. My day was already getting better. I just wanted to escape to my bedroom for a few minutes. As I entered my quiet sanctuary I saw a large wet spot on my carpet. Great! Which one of those munchkins broke the golden rule and came into my bedroom? "Ok, whose been in my room? And what is this on my carpet?" I just heard a bunch of "Not me's" as each child excluded themselves from the accusation. Resigning myself to the fact that I was not going to find the culprit I returned to my room. As I entered the master bath I nearly fell flat on my rear as my right foot slid across the floor. The bathroom floor was flooded. "What the heck?" Great! I checked the toilet, sink and shower but there were no signs of a leak. Where was all this water coming from? Then I heard what sounded like running water. It was in the wall. I began to panic... "I bet our walls are going to be full of water, eventually causing mildew and wrought. We're going to have to replace the carpet and the walls." As I came running out of the bathroom I noticed that the spot on the carpet was much larger than I thought. I had no idea what to do. After my six-year-old son told me how to turn off the water to the house (that story is for another day) I felt relief knowing that my husband was on his way home to save the day.

It was like playing Marco-Polo trying to find the exact spot in the wall where the leak occurred. I had my ear pressed firmly against the wall listening. It was not hard to find because it sounded like Niagra Falls. We had to move our queen bed in order to get to the leak. Unfortunately, Chris cracked the beautiful cherry wood bed frame in the process. I didn't even have to say anything. Chris said it, "Great!" Followed by, "Sorry." Chris cut into the wall to find that one of the connectors came loose. I don't really know what that means, but it was causing quite the mess. Praise God, it was an easy fix except Chris had to remove a chunk of irreplaceable paneling from our wall. There was water everywhere. I had just finished washing our towels the night before, and here we were having to use them up on this mess. Chris vacuumed up approximately six gallons of water from a small 3'X 5' area. Our carpet was soaked. I did the best I could to clean up but I had another meeting to get to at 1:30. I rushed off again.

When I returned home this evening Chris decided it would be a good time to replace a piece of paneling in the boys' room. Because he had to cut out portions of their wall to fit the new paneling their room was covered in saw dust. Great! I have been cleaning up dust from our living room and kitchen from the remodeling we did last month and here it is again. I could not hardly stand to look into the room to see their dust covered beds and toys. I decided I was just going to bathe the kids, put them in bed and resign for the night. I guess my frustration got the best of me because I nearly scrubbed the boys' scalps raw when I was washing their hair. As I was about to get the last child out of the bathtub I heard something snap. Chris had purchased a large sheet of paneling and cut it to size only to have it break into two pieces when he tried to install it. Great! He had forgotten to hang sheetrock behind the paneling for support. Even he was ready to give up on this day. Chris, knowing I was about to blow, cleaned the boys' room and changed the sheets on their beds. Now they and their beds were nice and clean.

My house is filthy; we only have one clean towel; there is still a gaping hole in the wall behind my bed; and the busted pipe under my sink was never fixed, but I got to pray my sweet boys to sleep. And that truly is great!

I don't really see a moral to this story other than pure entertainment. We're exhausted. I'm not even sure how I've been able to muster up the energy to tell this story, but I hope you enjoyed it. I am going to bed now because I have court again in the morning. Great!!

"... Maybe she'll say yes."

I had one of the cutest conversations with my three-year-old son, Calvin. It was hilarious and he did not even know he was being funny. This was our conversation.

Out of the blue Cal says, “Hey, mommy, you know the weirdest thing? I want Addy (Addison) to be my wife,... you know when we grow up.”

Me: “Oh, yeah. Why’s that weird?”

Calboy: “Because she said no. I wanted her to be my wife because I like her... But maybe I can marry her little sister.”

Me: “You mean Emmy Claire?”

Calboy: “No, I mean the girl who wasn’t there.” (Referring to our play date at the Murphrees the other day)

Me: “Oh, you mean Anna Kate.”

Calboy: “Yeah. Anna Kate.” “Yeah, I’ll ask Anna Kate to be my wife. Maybe she will say yes... you know when we grow up! And then I will kiss her, and kiss her, and kiss her... I will kiss her to death. Cause that’s what you can do to your wife; you can kiss her. Right mommy?”

Me: “Yes, Calboy, you can kiss your wife one day.”

Cal: “Yeah, I will kiss her. When I grow up Anna Kate will be my wife... when I grow up.”

Me: “Calvin, you are so adorable. I just love you.”

Cal: “I AM NOT ADORBBBLE!”

Me: “Adorable. I said adorable.”

Cal: “I am NOT ADORABLE!”

Me: “Cal, adorable means cute.”

Cal: “I am NOT,... Um, I AM cute.”

Then he choked on air! Oh what a funny child and a funny conversation. I laughed and cried at the same time. It was so sweet. It may not come across so funny and sweet because I’m not good at telling stories, but I hope you enjoyed it.