The pipes

Last night, while eating supper, we all heard a “tink” then a rush of water. Mama and Josh looked over just in time to see water start dribbling out from under the sink cupboard. A river of water sprang up from deep within the depths of the house. At times we heard the pipe gurgled and moan from the cellar. The water pipe was broken. Josh tried to see if he could fix it, but it was too complicated, and there was a part that needed to be replaced. So the plumber needed to be called. Mama was on the phone with the plumber for a long time before she finally hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. It seemed that the plumber was busy on the other side of town for a few days and we were being put on hold. Personally, I knew it was because we are poor, and there are some other families that are more wealthy, so they come first.

Sometimes it’s like the whole world has ganged up against us. No matter how hard we work, something goes wrong. After a few minutes of staring at the table, thinking, Mama looked at us and smiled. She said we would make do just fine for a few days. Jake let out his doggy whine, and complained that he would smell. I snapped at him, and told him that he already had the puberty smell so it really didn’t matter. The pipe moaned again in agreement. Of course, I got scolded for snapping at him, but he wasn’t scolded for whining. Normally a comment like that would have put me in front of the sink doing dishes. Perhaps I can find some good, out of this pipe problem.

A Babysitter's nightmare

Tammy, Mama’s friend from work, brought her kids over last night. Mama and Tammy both had the night off, so Tammy had invited to take Mama out for dinner with her and her husband. Mama’s face glowed with delight. She never went anywhere, so for Tammy to do this meant so much to Mama. Josh was working and Jake and Thomas had spent the night at thier buddies house. So that meant that I was to watch Tammy’s 2 toddlers.

At first I was so excited. If only I could go back and tell myself what a nightmare it was going to be. Tammy’s toddlers may look cute, but in reality they are tiny gremlins that run all over the place and destroy everything. I couldn’t keep them both in the same room. It seemed that they were constantly on the move, hunting out new things to destroy. For some reason they had an obsession with playing with the kitchen draws. Little Kayla would pull it open, then shut it, over, and over, and over again. The draw creaked and cried each time Kayla yanked the draw open and shut, as if it were calling, begging her to stop. At least it kept her occupied. Devin on the other hand, was like a bunny on drugs. He bounced around everywhere. I kept having to race from room to room, trying to locate where he had disappeared to, while still listening to make sure the kitchen draw was still being creaked open and closed. I had captured their attention for a little while, trying to hold it captive as long as possible, by taking pictures of them with the camera that Shana, my best friend, let me borrow for the weekend.

Finally they both fell asleep of the living room couch. They slept like little angels. Everything was peaceful now, but I no longer thought that they were little angels. I had seen the “other side”.

When Mama came home and saw how tired I was, and when I told her of what had happened, she laughed.

Flodded

Forget cats and dogs, its been raining horses and elephants for over a week. It wasn't heavy at first, but the last few days has been nothing but constant downpours. I was so thankful today when I woke up and saw that it was not raining! I could hear Josh snoring away in his room. Jake and Thomas were also still sleeping, and mom had alredy left for work. So I was alone, and ready to eat breafast. There was hardly anything left to eat in the kitchen. Finally, I decided that the pancake mix in the cubbord, down cellar, was calling my name.

When I opeaned up the cellar door, I was met by an unwelcomed suprise. A small leak in the cellar wall had grown, and there was water everywhere. The river, weaving its way like the thread of a quilt, flowed around the staircase and cubbords.
I let out a yelp in suprise and excitment. The more I watched in disbelief at what I was seeing, the more helpless I felt, and didn't know what to do. Thankfully my yelp was loud enough that it jumped Josh, and I could already hear him scrambling to get downstairs. He rushed into the kitchen, saw me, and asked,"are you alright?"

I love how much he cares for me. You could just hear it in his voice. Josh could move out any time, he was 19 and knew how to take care of himself. But he didn't want to leave mom. He felt that as the man of the house, he needed to work and support her and us.

I just pointed to the cellar. Josh came closer, peered down the stairs, and let out a swear. I watched as he paced back and forth in the kitchen like a lion impatiently waiting for a next move. Finally he picked up the phone and called our uncle Ralf to see what we should do.
We stored a lot of our belongings in the cellar, making it a jungle. I hoped that my porcilin dolls and my favorite board games weren't ruined. I just sat at the table and listend to Josh on the phone. I could tell this was going to be a long week.