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| Laura not squashing the baby |
We have had a lot of rain in Maryland this week. A lot. And while the skies are clear today, my basement is still a little damp. I may have been home all day Wednesday during the worst of the downpours, but that doesn't mean I remembered to check the french drain by the basement door for clogs! Which brings me to this:
I went down to the basement for one quick second to do something I can’t even remember anymore, and saw a line of mud along the door sill with an area of darker carpet spread (of course) through the dress-up clothes and a large pile of books on the floor next to the bookshelf. The drain! The blasted drain had to be clogged - and it was in that moment I remembered I'm supposed to check said drain for clogs before things get messy... oops!
I ran back upstairs to grab Laura to help me clean up the books, and noted that Paul was on his activity mat on the floor, so, like, sort of safe-ish enough. Gavin followed to “help” move the books that had been strewn about the floor to a dry part of the basement, so Paul was totally fine! We got everything cleaned up inside, so I needed to move outside to clear the drain before the flooding got worse.
But then I had to go outside in the deluge of rain to unclog the drain and shovel the masses of wet leaves out of the area. I left Laura in charge with Paul still on the floor… even though it would have taken me 20 seconds to put him in the swing. The drain too longer to clear than I anticipated, but I was so focused on my task, I really didn't notice how much time was passing. The kids were dry inside, and in my brain that meant they were safe.
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| Gavin not squashing the baby |
I finally got the drain cleared and went inside bleeding from two spots on my hands from doing god only knows what while cleaning the drain, to find Gavin sitting on Paul whacking him with a remote, while Laura is pulling Gavin’s feet and sobbing that he needs to stop and listen to her because she’s the oldest and why is he not listening! (I don't know, Laura, but if you get him to listen please share your sage wisdom!) Nate walked in right at that moment, as I am standing in a puddle of rain water and blood next to three crying children, and asked if I could help gather up water glasses for the dishwasher… I laughed, told him to save the infant (still on the floor), and walked away.
The rain has stopped. The children survived. The basement is fine, minus a few books. This is my perfect life.
