There’s a quote by Joey Adams that goes, “May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s Resolutions.”
If only that were true for us this year.
Let me take you back to the first hours of 2022. When I realized it may NOT be that immediate “fresh start” we so desperately and excitedly anticipated. When excuses for my list of 8 very motivated “Goals for The New Year” started creeping in, as fast as the water we found pouring over our basement sink & quickly flooding the areas surrounding…
Hubby: “ Uh …Ang… Come see this…”
Me: (thinking aww one of the kids probably fell asleep in a funny spot) “OK coming, just a minute…”
What I saw & FELT moments later was anything but cute OR funny. My socks, immediately soggy, and my eyes bulging in shock. How in the world did this happen?!
Well, we still don’t know EXACTLY. What we do know is that we put the kids to bed about 9:30 after an early New Year’s Eve celebration complete with Welch’s Sparkling Grape Juice, snacks, and games. And sometime between then and midnight, when my husband went to put the dog up and check on the kids asleep in the basement, the bathroom sink was left on FULL BLAST and the sink drain clogged by toilet paper??? Unfortunately for us that sink does not have an overflow hole like many do. So once the tiny sink filled fullà the rest overflowed into our carpeted basement and left us wading in about 2-3 inches of water.
All the kids denied it of course. They appeared as shocked as their frantic parents. We actually think one may sleep walk occasionally (especially when over-tired, cue New Year’s Eve late bedtime)… so maybe it can be excused… unnamed child used the bathroom, wiped, threw the toilet paper in the sink (why??), washed hands (hygiene is important), and then failed to turn OFF the water. That’s our story today at least, maybe when they’re teenagers we will get a more accurate re-count or confession.
Thus, the first couple hours of our New Year were spent finding every beach towel, shower towel, blanket, or absorbent fabric to attempt to soak up the water at our feet… was a real bonding moment as we each held the ends of the towel/blanket & twisted opposite directions to squeeze the water out and into the shower drain so we could repeat that about 100 more times. At about 2 am we surrendered and decided the rest would have to wait until morning. Along with the now mountain of laundry!
To make an already long story longer- we started to worry about mold growth as our basement has always seemed to have that potential as is. All of us were getting sick often (respiratory symptoms), and because 3 of our 4 precious children typically sleep in the basement, I wanted to test just to be safe. We purchased a petri dish test from our local Hardware Store and sure enough- lots of growth. We’ve heard however, that those kits can be about as accurate as CO*ID tests (wait did I say that ha), so we ( I) wanted to hire professionals to come see for themselves.
The results: MOLD> don’t let your kids down there.
Ooooook. No problem. We will just all sleep upstairs in our tiny 830 sq ft living space. Or better yet, I will take the oldest 2 and sleep out back in the camping trailer. We’ve got this.
By that point 2 of us had high fevers and all of us felt pretty miserable. Likely from a virus not the mold but I guess who really knows at this point. So we slept in the trailer, set our alarms for breakfast time and got the oldest kids off to school. It became our routine for about 4 days until all the moldy drywall, baseboards, and carpet were ripped out and removed. At this point the basement was deemed SAFE- aside from the lovely carpet tacks they left behind. OUCH.
We came up for air for a few days and then the stomach bug hit our foster buddy HARD. He was down for about a week with vomiting and horrendous diarrhea. Lots more laundry, lots more bonding, lots more cancelled plans and isolation, and lots more crazy fun. But we survived, and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right ?!
Well, now it’s just about February 20th, 2022, and I’m afraid to “jinx” us, but I am feeling ready to hit the ground running with those New Years Goals again.
And what does all this have ANYTHING to do with faith or foster care?! Well, not much. But also a whole lot. It’s been 451 days since my last blog published on here. WOW. And THAT is one of my 8 resolutions. I want to get back to regular (at least monthly) blogging. A LOT has happened since then. God has moved in our lives and is working on my heart so much in these strange times. I have a lot I would like to share & I truly believe God wants us all sharing our stories and inspirations. Communal growth. This blog is my opportunity to shine light on all God is ACTIVELY doing … He is as real and present today as He was thousands of years ago- we just have to slow down, look, share, listen, and take risks for Him.
So maybe you’re like us, and 2022 hasn’t felt like much of a relief like you had hoped and prayed. Perhaps you’ve felt under attack as well. Join us in declaring that TODAY is a new beginning. And “may your troubles last as long as (my 2022) New Year’s Resolutions”… basically just long enough to walk down the basement steps.
Isaiah 43:18-19:
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
*If you have not subscribed to our blog, take a minute to click “MENU”, enter your email address, and tap “FOLLOW”. This will allow a notification to be sent each time a new blog is posted… hopefully not in another 451 days! I am already working on 2 & cannot wait to share what God has done and is doing in our now family of SIX.
With Love,
Angela
Foster Love 