Montgomery Flood of 2013

What is the Montgomery flood of 2013 you ask.....In our  house it  is all ready legendary, even though my oldest two sons haven't even heard about it yet.  It all started this morning while I was trying to get my kiddos ready for school.  Allison had been missing from the breakfast table for a few minutes...and then I heard it.  "Mom, the water in the toilet isn't moving anymore."  I am thinking about what Allison just said, but not quite processing it.  I arrive in the bathroom with water all ready spilling out on the floor.  I use the crappy blue plunger that we leave in this bathroom because it is really much more attractive, and after all it is the guest bathroom.  It doesn't even begin to help unclog the 3/4 roll of toilet paper that is in the bowl.  It just adds more water to the floor.  I yell for Abby to go get the other plunger.  I also yell to all of the kids to bring down dirty towels...As they run to the laundry room for clean ones, I remind them to get the dirty ones.....I don't want to have to do double the laundry.  Once the towels  and the plunger make it downstairs the real fun begins.  Robert slips on the water and lands on his booty....shower time for that kid.  I finally have what seems like industrial plunger.  I plunge away and nothing but more water overflows.  I yell to Allison asking her what exactly she did.  I then get the brilliant idea to try and flush the toilet again.......Big mistake, even more water, but I think it must of loosened things a little because I was finally able to plunge it all down.  Luckily for me, my hubs has a shop vac. I wrung out the instantly wet towels and started to vacuum up all of the water.  10 minutes later and another quick wipe up of the floor with more dirty towels and the job was nearly done.   Just one thing more, emptying the shop vac.  I took the giant..now super heavy...vacuum out the front door.  I dumped the contents on the front lawn.  It was a potpourri of wrappers, sawdust, grocery sacks and whatever else the hubs and I had previously vacuumed up.  It pretty much looks like lawn barf from a concert now.  

The lesson I learned from all of this is that I need to pause and take a minute to think before  I react.  If I had been smart I would have reached into the toilet and gotten the paper out first.  Then perhaps the pretty plunger would've been able to do the trick.  If I had stopped to think, I would have looked in the shop vac before I started sucking up copious amounts of toilet juice.  In panic mode, I jump in head first with out looking most times, just as I did today.

In one aspect though, I am happy with how I reacted towards Allison.  I really didn't yell too much at her or punish her for her bathroom toilet bath.  I instantly forgave her for her 6 year old actions.  I love her so much more than any of  my material things, including my home.  This incident reminded me about her other water adventure that happened this time of year when she was 1.  Her little brother filled up a sink with hot water and her legs took a dip.  When this happened, I was downstairs watching a tv show.  I heard her cry, and didn't instantly react.  As a  1 year old she was known to cry a lot.  Once I heard her again, I ran upstairs and was horrified.  My sweet baby's legs were bright red.  As I tried to put cold water on her legs, her skin peeled off of one of her legs.  I rushed her to the emergency room crying the whole way.  I was crushed and heart broken that I had neglected to watch her better.  Luckily for Allison, her burns were only on one leg and not both.  Even though it has been years since this has happened.  I still haven't been able to fully forgive myself and feel like a bad mom.  In hind sight,  with today's incident, my reaction time has gotten faster.  I also learned that day, the danger of not setting your water heater.  I hope that if you read this that you will check yours and make sure it is not set above the manufactures recommended setting.  It might just save your kids and you from going through what we did.

Since Thanksgiving is coming soon, all I can say is how grateful I am to my Heavenly Father for my beautiful family.  I love them all so much.  They are loving and forgiving....I mess up lots.  I am thankful for my friends who put up with me.  I am not the easiest person to get along with.  I am thankful for my beliefs that allow me to know that even though I may not be able to forgive myself, the Savior Jesus Christ will.  I am thankful for the wonderful influence and guides my children's teachers are.  I am thankful for the freedom's I enjoy in this country.  I am thankful for my awesome job filled with children with such sweet spirits and amazing co-workers and bosses.  Mostly, I am thankful that I can live my life.  I am one lucky mama!