When unexpected things happen.

There are days, then there are DAYS. Today I think was one of those DAYS. I have been helping my daughter with her new babies. They are soooo cute. And they are growing fast. I spent last night helping with the feeding, so one parent could sleep. And during the day I help the other parent with feeding, so the other parent can catch a solid four or five hours of sleep.

Today, I had to come home. I have some sheep in a special replacement auction that I need to attend. I will be home for two nights and a day, then return to continue to help my daughter.

Upon arriving home, I carried my bags into the house and started my laundry. Then I started vacuuming as I had tracked dirt into the house. I was going by the laundry room and noticed a large puddle of water at the base of the washing machine. I stopped vacuuming and investigated.

I have an older front load washer. The water was “leaking” from the drawer where you put the detergent and softener. It has not done that before. I washed clothes last weekend without any water on the floor. I opened the drawer for detergent and what to my eyes should appear, dog food. How did dog food get in that place. The bucket is on a high shelf away from the washer. Who could have put it there was the main thought for my husband and myself. There have been no grandchildren present to assist with the cause of this problem. Who or what has put dog food in the place for laundry detergent?

I removed the dispenser drawer, there was even more dog food packed in the small area and down the tube leading to the washer tub. We would have to remove the top of the washer to clean the dog food out of the washer. In order to remove the top of the washer, we had to remove the dryer stacked on top. To remove the dryer, we would have to clear everything out of the laundry room to make space for the dryer on the floor.

Working for several hours to make room, move the dryer, and remove the top off the washer, vacuuming out the washer detergent dispenser and hose leading to the tub, we were finally ready for a test run to see if we had solved the problem of water on the floor. Test run, water running into the washing machine, no water on the floor. Hurray !!

Now to solve how the dog food was placed there to form the blockage….. conclusion…. mice. Yes, the little critter had found away into that part of the washing machine by way of a vent. The vent had a grid cover over it, but the spacing was large enough for a mouse to get through. We blocked the area with some copper wire mesh, or a “chore boy” for those who use copper wire mesh to clean cast iron cooking pans and skillets.

We replaced all the parts in the correct places, put the appliances back in their proper places in the laundry room. And I started my load of laundry once more.

After getting the washer working, I finished vacuuming the house.

My husband always teases me about how I get distracted from doing what I have started, taking hours to finish a simple task. Today, he was able to go on the unplanned journey that started with vacuuming the floor, to having to mop the water up in the laundry room and eventually mopping the laundry room to get all the water up, to repairing the washer and finally finish vacuuming the floor to clean up a mess I had made when I arrived home.

I think about my days and the things I need to get done. I have a plan. I start the plan, the out of nowhere something happens and I end up with a totally different job than what was planned. I no longer get upset or frustrated with how my days happen to go. I keep planning and starting, believing that I will get accomplished what I had planned for the day. Very seldom does my day go as planned.

Today, my husband going through this simple journey, he showed some frustration, as he was wanting to eat the dinner that had finished cooking. I was wanting to get the washer fixed so I would have clean clothes to wear tomorrow and next week.

Regardless of how the day starts and goes, I can only go one step at a time, get one thing done at a time. And hopefully get the jobs done that need to be done in the day. It is not the end of the world if things change. I adapt, handle the crisis and continue to move forward.

I have added mouse bait to the grocery list, and I will deal with the mouse problem before I leave Sunday morning.

amtolle