When we got up this morning, we'd planned to go to DC to check out the monuments, since the kiddos have never seen them. The forecast features a lot of rain, so though it wasn't the warmest day, we figured it would be a good time to head down.
But it didn't happen. Just as we were getting ready to head out the door, we discovered a bit of a flood in grandma's basement. After wading through a good quarter-inch of water, I told her to call a plumber and tell him it was an emergency. So she did. He came and investigated and said it was the septic tank, so we called he septic tank guy while Adam helped my grandma's boarder clean up the mess as best they could. The Little Boys were fascinated by the septic tank guy when he came; a middle-aged, stocky dude with a baseball cap perched atop his head --like my grandpa used to wear his-- and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He jawed on and on at Adam about the importance of proper septic tank management, and barked orders at those of us who observed from the deck above: go flush all of the toilets! All of 'em! I need pressure here! and turn on the water full blast! Do it! All of the faucets!. The greatly amused Little Boys relished their roles as helpers, and happily ran to and fro, turning faucets on and off and flushing toilets every few seconds. I could hardly keep a straight face.
By the time the ordeal was over, it was well after noon and our DC escape was out of the question, so we opted to finish some shopping instead. But before we hit the stores, we went to Chuck E. Cheese to fulfill a birthday promise I made to Brady last week. Since the kids here are still in school this week (poor kids), the place was virtually empty, so they had a blast running around and playing games, and Abby even won a ticket jackpot (which she promptly declared one of the highlights of her life. Aim high, girl of mine. Aim high).
After that, we did our shopping and wound up at The Home Depot to pick up a wet vac for grandma so we could finish cleaning up the mess in the basement. And here, at long last, is my "official" God-moment for the day: as we stood in line, I noticed a man at the register paying, and I realized I knew him: he and his wife were regulars in the Home Arts Building at the county fair --as was I-- when I was growing up. I told the kids to stay with Adam, and got his attention as he headed toward the door. He didn't remember me right away, but figured it out after a few moments, and ushered me out to his car where his wife was waiting.
I had a lovely chat with the Bradys, who are really lovely people. (In fact, I don't think I would've named Brady 'Brady' if they'd been less than great people!) I hadn't seen them in a number of years, but I've kept tabs on them via Facebook. Like us, they know the sting of child-loss: their grandson Mack --who was Abby's age-- passed away unexpectedly a few years ago. As much as I hate sharing membership in that particular club with anyone at all, it's always a blessing to me to run into someone who 'gets it,' so to speak. It's huge for me to be reminded that this life is not the end, and that our babies are living it up on the Other Side.
And to think: if the flood had never happened, we would've gone to DC and I wouldn't have seen them and I wouldn't have gotten to have that reassuring little talk. I've said it many times and it bears repeating yet again: God brings great things out of bad situations.
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