Mommyontheboysturf with her three sons

Mommyontheboysturf with her three sons

Sunday, May 10, 2015

No Big Deal

It started with our Friday "clean your room" routine. BabyBoy concluded, in his freshly turned 6 year-old mind, that locking his clean clothes in the bathroom would be easier than putting them in his drawers.  Since Daddy was in Haiti, Oldest stepped up to the plate to unlock the bathroom door-- unsuccessfully.
"No big deal, " I reasoned, "We can use the other bathroom for 24 hours until Daddy returns and unlocks the door."
That's when BabyBoy came down with the worst case of diarrhea I've ever seen .....smelled....heard.  The locked, convenient bathroom was next to his bedroom and the available bathroom happened to be a flight of stairs and around the corner.
Saturday morning I woke up with a craving for lentil stew. As I was preparing the  brown lentil stew, BabyBoy shouts, "Uh oh! Mommy, there is poop all over. Sorry mommy! I mean everywhere! Can you help me?" From brown liquid in the kitchen to a similar consistency in the bathroom, my craving for lentil stew completely disappeared.  Brown stuff re-grouted the tile and splattered the shower curtain, walls, and even entered the 1950 radiator vents.
I was calm. Mother's Day miracle. Really! Even I was amazed. I slipped on disposable gloves and laughed as I de-pooped the bathroom. I bathed the boy for the third time.
The level of liquid continued to rise throughout the day and the toilet refused to flush.
"No big deal." I thought again. "I'll just plunge the toilet."
Except, the plunger was locked in the upstairs bathroom.
"No big deal, I can run and buy one." I confidently told myself.  But then I remembered that it's Tulip Time and I'm smack in the center of the hustle and bustle during the busiest and biggest parade. I directed Middleson and Oldest outside to use the bathroom and designated the bathroom for BabyBoy and instituted a no-flushing rule.
On Mother's Day Eve, I realized all I wanted for Mom's Day was Daddy's help unclogging the toilet and doing laundry.  I sent emails to my single-mom friends realizing they can't request that kind of help.
Daddy arrived home around 11 PM greeted instantly by the bowl of brown. We stood in the bathroom with plastic bags and a toilet brush, assessing the situation. We laid in bed for an hour talking about his experiences in Haiti and mine on the Homefront.
I went to bed too late and woke up too early with a head-ache. I also started the day with the lowest expectations and greatest contentment EVER! It doesn't have to be about breakfast in bed and spa treatments, although my boys are experts in that department.
Today I'm celebrating motherhood and the "off" moments that God enabled me to meet with calm and peace. This year I'm not requesting breakfast in bed, just a toilet that flushes. I'm grateful for the perspective that Daddy's trip to Haiti gives our family. I have my family and my family has me. We all have Jesus.
That's a big deal.

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