My Sink Runneth Over

“Kids, brush your teeth thoroughly and let’s get going! Your dental appointment is in half an hour, and it takes that long to get the office. Please hurry!” I reminded anxiously.

We made it on time and shuffled three children through their six month checkups in a reasonable amount of time. We stopped at the grocery stores, and the cleaners on the way home. Total time elapsed: 3 hours. Arms full of packages, I unlocked the front door and headed for the kitchen to prepare dinner.

A strange puddle was accumulating near the refrigerator. “What could be leaking?” I wondered, as I dropped my packages and dispatched the kids to get towels to mop up the mess. As I looked around I could see water pouring down the window in the sheets. I could hear water running, but where was it coming from?

I ran upstairs and discovered, to my dismay, that my son had left the water running when he brushed his teeth before going to the dentist. A washcloth near the sink had fallen into it and stopped it up. Water had been flowing through the house for 3 hours!

I turned off the flood and flew down to the basement to see if there was water accumulated there. Indeed there was, but the sump pump in the corner was handling the excess.

Back upstairs, my children still mopping furiously, I wondered what to do next?! How much water could be accumulated in the ceiling? Were we in danger of the ceiling caving in? If I turn on the light so we can see what we are doing, is the house going to go up in smoke? If I poke holes in the ceiling to let the water out, is my husband going to kill me?

I tried to call my husband at work, but of course, he wasn’t there. Before long, however, by some miracle, in through the door he strolled. He actually admired my resourcefulness in poking holes in the ceiling to let the excess flow out. (Why should I tell him it was my neighbor’s suggestion, not mine?) He surveyed the flood area, and admitted we probably didn’t qualify for disaster relief funds from the state. So, he planned to get out the tools and spackle and repair the damage after the ceiling had a chance to dry out for a few days. He’s cool as a cucumber under pressure. Why do my knees still feel like jelly?!