My neighbor from across the road came over this afternoon with her five year old daughter. She handed me a card and homemade mint scrub. As a thank you for pulling bins up her driveway while they were on vacation. No, really.
I was in the middle of a hurricane and planning of damage control:
- What health and safety guidelines should I follow? Proceed with caution so as not to trip over the toys.
- How do I clean my damaged home or repair and rebuild it safely for the future? If I knew I would start cleaning it.
- What precautions should I take when returning home? Tell Husband the house burned down and buy a new one.
- Where can I get assistance? Think only an enthusiastic mother-in-law would be willing to tackle this one.
- How do I cope with the emotional effects of a disaster? Chocolate and alcohol. And denial.
- How can I help children cope with the emotional effects of a disaster? I think the child is fine, he was the hurricane.
- How can I help someone affected by a disaster? Share my chocolate and alcohol?!
Anyway, she gave me a gift, so I had no choice but to ask her in. I ushered her through the kitchen, the long way around to the back deck, in hope she is blinded by the sun enough not to see the full extend of our mess. At this point I would also like to add I did in fact straighten the house out before we left for the beach this morning. In the afternoon, while gardening ( pulling weeds really) Little J got bored and went to play inside. Ten minutes later I came in and cried.
As I was saying, off we went to the back deck. Kids started playing. Pulling more stuff out. Onto the back deck, then in the living room. Then they moved upstairs. It was for the best really, because my neighbor should in fact feel guilty for her child adding to the disaster.
It was a perfect afternoon. Good company, occupied kids and Husband mowing to show off a bit.
Then I heard the kids coming downstairs. Apparently they knocked down the tent in Little J’s room and needed help.
My son was telling his guest: “I will ask my Mommy to do it. My Daddy is old, he cannot.”
The day got even better…
Credits: Questions on how to cope after Hurricane are by FEMA.
PS Husband is only a few years older then me.
13 Comments
Twitter: Mytimeasmom
Chocolate and alcohol make everything better. And I will always join you post hurricane to share them.
Jessica recently posted..A Weekend with the Family
Sigh. Every time I clean my kids are right behind me messing things up again. I just give my guests booze in hopes of making them forget the mess.
Angela@BeggingTheAnswer recently posted..Every Child Should Have Early Exposure To Jefferson Starship
giggles
Twitter: chicktuition
It’s really quite amazing how much mess even one child can create…and they make it look so effortless.
jacqui recently posted..Let’s Try This Again…
Twitter: NaynaDub
I love the strategy to blind someone by the sun to not see the mess. Genius!
Elena recently posted..Mommy Knows Best
Poor “Old” Daddy! LOL! This is so cute! And add your pony/I mean puppy into the mix and I really get the picture!
Linda Medrano recently posted..Nigerian Sailors!
Twitter: runnermomjen
Oh my gosh…that is too funny…especially the “old dad” part.
Runnermom-jen recently posted..Happiness Is
ROTFL – good thing dad is not too old to mow.
Your son gets points on knowing that mom is young and capable.
Twitter: yhwriteme
This was really funny. I feel so much better about my house, and what is it with neighbors knocking on the door when my house is a wreck and never ever when I’ve sold my left kidney to pay a cleaning crew?
Erica M recently posted..lovelinks 10 is open
Twitter: outrageousblog
Hmm… I like the idea of the hurricane-readiness metaphor but to be honest I thought neither the post nor the metaphor were very clear. Perhaps I’m just not used to your writing style, but I felt like I had to read it several times to figure out what was going on. Don’t mean to be negative! Just offering an honest critique from a fellow writer! From TRDC.
http://www.outrageousfortune.net
Kids are good at creating disasters- but I admit that I kind of like it. Wish I could do it too.
Jack @ TheJackB recently posted..The Right Tool For The Job
Twitter: sweetbutterblis
My husband is 8 years older then me and it is an endless source of amusement to tease him about how old he is.
My hubby is also 8 years older than me, and we tease him CONSTANTLY.
Although he says he doesn’t care… that he’s married to my birth certificate LOL
great post! **stopping in from TRDC