I usually have excellent "luck" that is to say I have a very rich and blessed life. This month though the energy of the universe lost the memo or something and our lives held some unually execptected misfortune (yes yes when else but a month before Christmas...).
Misfortune 1- I woke up to find no hot water in my shower...never a great start to the day.
Misfortune 2- I went to a grocery store I don't usually go to with carts that Ben won't sit in (he prefers to surf on them, feet on the seat bum in the air with hands on the bars although grandmothers and store managers tend to frown on this). Usually I head right to the baby isle to grab a box of his favorite rice snack called a mum mum. He can go through a whole box on a shopping trip and it keeps him sitting...it is worth the $3.69. THIS store however does not carry our beloved mum mum...Ben howled while I tore through the store trying to throw nessesities in the cart to the tune of "MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM" at the top of his little lungs.
The Man in front of me as it turned out bought all the 3% milk...I waited to talk to the casheir about getting one from the back brought up for me while trying in vain to console my snotty sobbing mess of a mum mum addict. While talking to the cashier (with a hand on Ben's foot to hold his bum down) I saw out of the corner of my eye a man dive in my direction...to catch my falling baby mid surf. He had gotton his whole body up out of the cart without my noticing despite my hand on his foot. I thanked the man while he reassured me "we've all been there" and in my flustered state forgot to pay extra for shopping bags since my cloth ones as usual sit in the trunk of the van... I grabbed a cardboard box to throw my groceries into and was never so happy to leave a store. I got Ben into his carseat and managed to find a crushed up mum mum from a past trip under the seat. I picked up the box of groceries, opened the trunk and in that moment of quiet claravoyancy we have before catastrophy stikes I braced myself. The bottom of the box went. Soup cans and cracker boxes rolled under neighbouring cars and I drove home. (okay okay I didin't, i crawled around under the cars scrounging for lost cream of chicken soups and toothpaste cursing cardboard...but it made for a better finale if I had just left it all didn't it!?)
Misfortune 3- I arrive home to a freezing house...I turn up the furnace to hear a loud clunking, sputtering and ...silence. The last thing you want to hear on December 9th with -10 on the themometer outside the window.
I nievly thought we could survive the season with our gas fireplace and a space heater...reality set in when Ben was shiverring so hard the next morning his blue lips were chattering so hard he couldn't eat his breakfast (calm down Grammie..I'm exageratting:)! Jon got out the chequbook... I have since told him there is no need to put a bow on my new Christmas furnace motor...
Misfortune 4- The crual nature of this misfortune is that we thought we escaped it...I thought the universe had fallen back into place and my life was back on track of narrowly escaping such events. Not so. We were happy to hear on Friday when the hot water repair person came and said that it just needed a new timer, free of charge since its rented and we were good for a few more years. I said "are you sure" not yet confident in my turn of luck and she said "oh ya it doesn't need replaced yet!"
On Sunday we woke up to a basement full of water from a supersized waterheater tank that was currently sitting empty. The basement drain is in the laundry room...stuffed with dryer lint...of course. The dry wall was wet, the toys were wet, the clothes in boxes on the floor were wet...our feet...were wet.
Repair person 2- "yup this tank is definatly shot".
me (trying not to scream and rip my hair out)- "what about all the damage"
RP2- "Well you should have had someone in here to look at it sooner, unfortunatly its your responsibility"
me (voice shaking...) WE DID have someone in ....2 days ago! They fixed the timer!
RP2- "oh no your timers fine...you need a whole system"
me...now ripping my hair out.
Misfortune 5- To think that we may be okay over Christmas afterall was the hope we had put in the Christmas bonus that Jon's partner would surely give him for all his hard work this year. He brought home a Christmas card last week and we eagerly opened it to find .... a swiss chalet gift card.
Misfortune 6- Last week me, who usually has the immune system of a shark and NEVER gets sick came down with not only the flu...but strep throat at the same time. I would not wish this on anyone. Ever.
The good news is that we escaped another year without famine or disease. Ben is healthy, happy and hilarious. We didn't crash any cars, burn down our house or accidently unplug the carbon monoxide ditectors. We have food in our fridge, gifts under our tree, supportive and generous familes who continue to amaze us with these qualities along with a good chuck of love AND gas is currently 68 cents a litre at our gas station... we are still ahead of most with some better perspective to boot!
It is a Merry Christmas after all!
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