Have you ever had one of those days where things get so out of control, you just have to laugh?! The alternative would be tears, but I have found crying generally takes up more energy than laughing, so when I have the reserves to choose, I choose to laugh :)
Last night was one of those times. Leo has been gone for most of the week and I was expecting him home yesterday. When I found out he wasn't coming, I was bummed, but decided we'd just cope the best we could. I was helping put on a little celebration for a newly married couple at the church (no biggie, just a dessert pot-luck) but I needed to go early to help set up. Since Leo was gone and it was about 12 below zero, I decided to take the kids with me. We had the talk before we went, about being helpful and not running around like wild animals through the church, which seems to be a favorite past time of the children. They all agreed they'd be good... well, of course, as soon as we got there, they were off, zipping around and under tables, up the stairs, through the kitchen, in and out of the bathrooms. I finally had them all sit at one table and we got through the evening, which ended up being lots of fun with the slideshow and video.
When we got home we realized the front door had not shut properly when we left. This often happens when it is cold outside. So, it was open about 8 inches for 3 hours. Thankfully, it was only down to 60 in the living room. Right away, Ned started working on building a fire in the woodstove. I am embarrassed to say I have yet to successfully build a fire in that stove, but he managed to do it after diligently nursing the stove for about 40 minutes. He was my hero for the night!
In the middle of all of that (smoke detector going off, kids all grabbing the axe to help chop kindling, cardboard box blazing huge flames from the stove...) I went to wash my hands and realized the water had frozen. We hadn't had the heat tape on since it had been so warm for awhile. It was about this time, that I decided to laugh! I'm not sure it was a joyful laugh- it was probably more sarcastic in it's nature, but it was a laugh and a sort of smile nonetheless!!!Thankfully, Leo had a cell phone and actually answered it and told me what I needed to do. About 40 minutes later the water came back on.
By this time, I had all 10 kids (we had two extras for a sleep-over) snuggled in blankets in the living room watching Wall-E, the smoke had started to clear, laundry was going and the house was warming up. I was able to go to bed before 11:30 and slept quite well!
This morning held it's own set of events that put me in the position to choose once again between laughter and tears. This time it was Malachi's "puddles" all over the house while I was out at the woodpile in 27 below zero... anyway, sometimes you just have to laugh :)
Leo is supposed to be home this evening and we're all looking forward to a good Sunday together tomorrow. Hope yours is good too!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
You have all the fun. Perhaps a candidate for "Super-Mom-of-the-year"? Thanks for watching my two.
Hope your Sunday included some rest. Great job finding your smile in the midst of everything.
I have to tell you that I don't envy you BUT I sure would've loved to have helped you HAD I been there. So sorry about all the trouble BUT you took a frustrating situation(s) and made it manageable. Love ya tons!
Oh wow Menda! I can't believe Ned, what a sweet young boy! Good job holding the fort down!
Post a Comment