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It must be true. Things really do happen for a reason and
usually for the best. This past Thanksgiving my husband,
Jerry, and I were spending alone. We weren??™t really feeling
sorry for ourselves, but it was definitely going to be
different. This year the grown kids had plans of their own,
so just the two of us would share the holiday. We made
reservations at an upscale hotel well known for its holiday
buffets, complete with ice sculptures for d?©cor. We were
going to treat ourselves, and I??™d have the holiday off and
out of the kitchen. At least the cook was going to be
pampered??¦??¦??¦??¦
As I was turning off lights the night
before, I noticed a damp spot on the carpet. I said out
loud, ???Oh, no! This pup hasn??™t had an accident in months,
so why now???? I grabbed towels and cleaning supplies and
went to work. Then I noticed there was absolutely no color
as I dabbed at the area. Sticking my nose nearly into the
piling, I was amazed there was no odor either.
Then it hit me and I screamed, ???Thar
she blows!??? This being the second time the hot water tank
had gone out, I knew why that particular area of carpet was
wet. At least it was noticed immediately. The other time
our carpet had already soaked up 50 gallons of water, and we
had out of town guests staying with us for a wedding.
Nightmare weekend, as I recall!
We corralled dogs, yanked up that area
of carpet, began turning knobs on the tank, and hooking up a
garden hose to drain the tank onto the driveway. It was
getting close to midnight, and we were up to our necks in
trouble.
During all of this I could only be
thankful we had no guests for the holiday! Then I began to
panic about showers Thanksgiving morning. Soon, Jerry
hollered at me, ???Grab some soap and wash cloths and get out
here.??? By now it was midnight. What a site to see;
the two of us taking spit baths on the driveway before all
the hot water ran down the alley. Not to mention, it was
the coldest night of the year thus far. Luckily, all the
neighbors??™ lights were out and we hoped they were tucked
away sound asleep.
As we finally fell into bed, I tried to
convince myself I could handle washing my hair in cold water
the next morning. Then it hit us ??“ what if no plumbers were
available on the holiday. Oh no ??“ how many spit bathes
could a person endure? Or, what if every plumber in town
had gone away for the holiday? We decided we would just
pull up our bootstraps and survive like the pioneers did.
Yes, we could survive! We had no other choice.
However, the next morning I learned
washing your hair in cold water is agony! It??™s much like
eating ice cream too fast, except it isn??™t just your sinuses
aching; the pain permeates your entire brain. I had an
electric hotpot of warm water next to the kitchen sink, and
when the pain became unbearable, I??™d pour on a bit of warm
just to take the edge off. I washed and rinsed as fast as I
could go, but it seemed to take forever. I was sure I??™d be
hypothermic before I finished.
We finally made it to the lovely
buffet, and looked pretty much like everyone else, and I
didn??™t notice anyone shy away from us as if we had body
odor. Considering the past 12 hours of our lives had been
wretched, things were going very well, and I was ready for a
glass of wine before attacking the beautiful feast spread
across the dining room.
We sat back, made a toast, and began
sipping as we spoke of all the things we had to be thankful
for this year. About halfway through that glass of wine,
the ???spirits??? seemed to grab hold of me. Suddenly I was
telling Jerry how thankful I was for no out of town guests
this year, the puppy didn??™t have an accident, garden hoses,
kitchen sinks, electric hotpots, shampoo??¦??¦??¦Jerry
interrupted, rolled his eyes, and said, ???You have a lot in
common with that hot water tank, you know!???
???What in the world are you talking
about? I??™m enjoying myself, and relaxing for the first time
since disaster struck last night.???
With a devilish look in his eye, he
said, ???Well, you know how you are after a few sips of wine????
???I??™m fine after a few sips of wine,??? I
insisted. I was so confused. ???Just how can you compare me
to a hot water tank????
???Well, as you were going on and on
about the things you were thankful for, I was tempted to
stand up right here in this crowded dining room and
announce, ???Thar She Blows!???
?©2005 Kathleene S. Baker |
