Monday, January 18, 2010

When Life is in the crapper...Suck it UP


As if we haven't had it hard enough...our septic tank is backed up. I don't mean my financial or emotional tank but our actual septic tank. Although my emotional and financial tanks are gurgling as I type...the septic tank is telling me "S--- happens."


A week ago I noticed some funky activity in the downstairs toilet. Just a random 'glug glug' sound from the toilet on the bottom floor of our house. When I would go in to investigate it appeared that my toilet was burping bubbles for no apparent reason. I bought some rid x and poured it down the john and flushed.



Next day I thought my problems had been flushed away. BOY was I wrong! The laundry room is right across the hall from the bathroom and when I washed my sheets and comforter I heard water running and walked into the bathroom to discover two inches of warm soapy water on my bathroom floor... all coming out of the toilet and pouring onto my bathroom floor.



HOORAY!! One more thing going wrong at the wrong time.



At least it wasn't "Dooky" but simply the washer emptying up through my toilet and flooding my bathroom floor. After using every towel in my house to sop up the mess I turned the water off behind the toilet and simply went to bed hoping it would just be a bad dream in the morning.

NOT SO...

My sister came over and ran a snake through the washer pipe and came up with some lint but seemed there was nothing else blocking the way.

I tried flushing the toilet again and at first thought we had success.

NOT SO...AGAIN.

Two minutes later I heard the gurgling sound and went to get more towels before the water started pouring out once again.

GEEZ LOUISE.... give me a break!

We determined when talking to a septic company (after my sister came back over and smelled sewage in my front yard area) that we needed our septic tank pumped.



If that ain't some S*#%!!!

Once again more Angels appeared in our lives. After putting my family on their prayer list at my sister's church, some wonderful people got together and told her they were mailing me a check to have my septic tank pumped. I was struggling to pay our mortgage and barely had $$ left to put gas in my car.



They are coming to pump my septic tank and we will be able to not only relieve ourselves without worry of a "crap shoot" but will be able to wash clothes again as well.

While I was at work today working a ten hour shift, my sister came over and cleaned my house...took home my laundry to wash and left dinner simmering in a crock pot on my counter.

One thing I have learned is that Zach "Plunges" like a girl. When I was sopping up water and asked him to use the plunger to try and make the oncoming tsunami smaller he put his fore finger on top of the plunger handle and pushed slowly "up, down, up, down." I snatched it out of his hand as the water hit the top of the bowl and began furiously jamming the plunger fast and as hard as I could. He asked me if I was mad and I told him no...that is just the way you are supposed to use a plunger.

When the septic people pumped out our tank they said the filter cap was missing and we still needed our lines snaked...$150 for the cap and $185 for the snake. We declined their generous offer. I suppose we will have to have the cap replaced but that goes on my "To Do-Do" list. At least I can wash clothes again and flush the toilet after peeing without a plunger between my legs.

Massey called me at work tonight (the kids ALWAYS call between 6 and 7... like that is my slow time at the restaurant) to ask if a good friend of hers can stay with us for a week while her parents fly to Michigan to look for a new house to relocate to. For Pete's sake...if I am having trouble feeding five family members and three dogs...what's one more teen age girl?

She has a lot of family issues and is a dear sweet girl just trying to have a happy time being a teen...so I said yes (like an idiot.)

Maybe she will know how to use a plunger properly ! If not, I can teach her.

Work has picked up some and I have resigned myself to be happy to have a job and have put leaving my place of employment on the back burner. I still plan on finding a new job, but would be crazy (er) to leave a paycheck that is certain most of the time for the unknown...especially in this economy. Now that I have another mouth to feed coming on board for a week (I hope she likes Kibbles and Bits) my strategy has to adapt to the new situation.

I told Massey that so many people have helped us out...it is time to start helping others. At least this girl is extremely sweet and seems to LOVE being with us (much stress relief for her.)

So my "Crap" has been sucked up and paid for by Angels... work is going okay...and Tim picked up a third part time job (Thank goodness since our family just grew by one for a week.)

One thing I can say is that life is never dull in our house. It is a house constantly filled with teens (a good thing in my book) and a place that they seem to enjoy.

Thanks to my sister and brother and the many other people that have helped in so many ways... in the words of the wise Dr. King...

WE SHALL OVERCOME !!

Til next time... "Flushin' Freely" COTTON

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