I'm not sure this post needs any words. If you are a mom, you'll be able to relate without me going any further.
It all started when we had this brainstorm to host a Tu B'Shvat Seder for The Learning Shuk. We posted it on our Facebook page, and it began to grow and grow and grow. We were expecting 68 people at our last count. It was also supposed to be cold and rainy on the day of the gathering.
After we decided to have this Learning Shuk gathering at the Pinkus household, David Pinkus had to schedule a trip out of the country. He would not be present at this gathering, but that was ok - we carried on. David - if you don't already know - travels during the work week and spends his time in Boulder, returning to us for the weekend. We've been managing with these weekly trips, but the trip to Uruguay meant that he would miss one of those weekends and be gone longer than is typical.
On Thursday, we began to cook for the upcoming gathering. I reached under my sink to grab some additional dish towels, and they were sopping wet. Oh, great! A leak! We will carry on. I put some buckets under the sink, made some calls, and went on with the day. My plumber told me to refrain from using the dishwasher to see if that was the cause of the leak. So, I did.
On Friday, the entire base of the cabinet was a pool of water. It's worse, I thought. It's not the dishwasher, I thought. Oh, great! I'm not stressed yet. I'm really not. With a few helpers in the kitchen and people dropping off tables and chairs - my biggest concern was that there would not be enough food. But, even that could not get to me. Too bad if we run out of cholent or only half the people get to eat black bean hummus wraps. There will be something for everyone. It will be fine.
The plumber cannot come until Monday, but he gave me the name of someone else. That guy told me to call him in three hours if no one else came to look at it. Jason - from across the street and who built my kitchen - came by to look at it. But it wasn't dripping when he came by (murphy's law). I began to think the rain was driving my leak. As soon as he left, it began to rain again and the leak came back.
I decided not to call him because there was really nothing he could do at this point anyway. I wasn't going to stop using my sink. I had already stopped using my dishwasher. And, I wasn't going to let him start popping holes in my wall before my company came on Saturday. So, we carried on.
The girls told me I did not have enough dessert. I went to Smart and Final to buy more desserts. A sheet cake, a pound cake, and some cookies - all with high fructose corn syrup. So, we may not have enough food to eat for lunch, but we would have enough dessert. Tick tock. Shabbos is coming soon.
It's not the same without David. It's not the same when I don't cook anything extraordinary for Shabbat (no way I was going to cook another meal). It's not the same when it begins to rain for twelve hours straight and you realize the meal the next day will have to be inside. No worries - not yet. Really.
After dinner and after children went to sleep, I continued on. I set out plates and silverware and cups (forgot to put out the napkins). I put out the serving dishes that we would be using the next day. I swept the floor and did what I could. In the morning, with my friendly neighborhood helper, we finished getting ready. The tables and chairs were arranged. The Tu B'Shvat seder foods were placed on the table. The grape juice was poured and the salad dressing mixed. The avocados were chopped, the ice buckets filled, and the food on the buffet table when people arrived.
Now, it is three days later. I just finished the last set of dishes - or, so I thought. Until I walked into the garage and saw the dirty dishes we had stashed in the garage to get them out of the way. Ooops! I may be saving those for David to wash. He gets home Thursday night.
Michael, the Locator, came by on Monday. That was the day that Isaac was home from school. He had a slight fever. Michael discovered that when we turn on the dishwasher, a pool of water forms under the dishwasher. Not good. And, we didn't even get through the whole cycle. Imagine how much water is usually under there. One full cycle - at least - per day. The water. Sitting there. The mold.
Now, I need to call the mold guys. And then the drywall guys because the back wall of the sink cabinet has crumbled to pieces. While Michael was looking for the leak, he said he to drill some holes in the wall. But, he didn't have to drill - the wall was so wet, it crumbled in his hands. And, then we need to rebuild the cabinet because the floor of the cabinet is rotted away. And moldy, I'm sure. And, then we have to call the floor guys to come and repair the floor because the floor has been rotting for quite some time now - as I was repeatedly told there was no leak to be found.
But, that was the middle of Monday. I decided my children and I were going to relax after school - maybe watch a movie and do homework while we were watching. We (all) needed to relax and take it easy. And, then the phone rang.
It was Nurse King from school. "Oh no", I said - as I say every time she calls. "Oh, yes", she said, which she usually doesn't say. Ellie was sent to the office because she was scratching her head a lot. She has lice, Nurse King told me. LICE? I've been through lice before. I know it's not the end of the world, but I also know that it is tedious and gross and time consuming... and that was my breaking point.
I'm stressed. I can't breathe. My head is spinning. I went to school. I got my children. I made them sit in the middle of the satillo tile (luckily, the family room was still empty from Saturday). They sat there while I sat there and tried to compose myself. First, I told my neighbor whose daughter had been with Ellie the day before. Then, I went to get the Lice Shampoo. Then, I called the lice lady. They charge a pretty penny, and I'm pretty sure I can be a lice lady myself - but I knew I did not have the time, the stamina, or the sanity to get through shampooing and checking and combing and ridding the house of lice.
And, so I called her. And then I started stripping the sheets, vacuuming the mattresses and remaking the beds. I shampooed my children, still making them sit on the satillo tile, while they munched on pizza for dinner while watching TV and forgetting about homework. No one was going to school the next day.
After 30 minutes or so, I began to rinse each of them, get them in pajamas, and put them to bed. Then, I stripped the sheets from my bed, vacuumed the couches (which means took off all the pillows - vacuumed underneath, vacuumed both sides of the pillows and cushions) and covered them with sheets. I started washing the bed sheets that I had taken off their beds. I emailed everyone who had been at my house over the weekend. I cancelled the following day's activities and meetings and then I went to sleep, trying to forget what was going on.
The lice lady was here this morning for a bit over four hours. She checked and picked through everyone's hair. Before she left, she shampooed everyone. While she was here, I quarantined the playroom for two weeks. I removed the sheets from the night before and the pillows and put them in the dryer for fifteen minutes. I started doing the loads of laundry that required washing. I bagged all brushes, hair supplies, and combs and put them in baggies in the freezer. I called school. I washed every coat, car seat, towel, and bath mat and I'm not done yet. (I still have the dirty dishes in the garage too.)
After 30 minutes, I rinsed each of them (again). Rinsing is a long process - it takes a long time to get the lice goo out. I've overcome my moments of stress and immobilization. I am doing the next thing and then the next thing and then the next thing. There is a lot to do - for seven days, there is a lot to do to ensure that the lice do not return, that there are not any eggs left behind - waiting to hatch. Diligence is essential to proper and effective lice removal.
It's not over yet. There is so much more to tell. But this is way too long and I feel better already. So, this has served its purpose. Go ahead and laugh at me. And when your children get lice, give me a call. I know exactly what to do.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment