washing machine chaos

For almost the past week, life at our household has ground to a screeching halt.  And it’s all because of the washing machine.  Last Wednesday, laundry was already starting to pile up at our house.  I’d been having trouble staying ahead of things, thanks to a busy Lenten schedule, and an increasingly busy social schedule.  It’s awesome to have friends again and places to go, people to be with, but last night I had to stop and say to Christopher, “I thought the whole point of a stay-at-home mom was that you stayed at home!”  I was mostly joking around because I’m so very glad to not be so lonely anymore.  But I am a little tired and behind on housework.

And then the washing machine broke.  You don’t realize how much you depend on a household appliance until it goes and breaks on you.  Of course, the day after it broke just happened to be the day I went into Burrito’s room after her nap and found her with poop on her chin, poop on her clothes and sheets.  What other day, right? 

Burrito routinely wets through her diaper onto her sheets, like several times a week.  So, a washing machine is an important part of our house. 

My husband needs his good clothes clean.  He’s a pastor.  You never know when he’s going to have to be ready for a hospital visit in minutes.  Or ready to lead a funeral service.  He’s got to be prepared to look good at a moment’s notice. 

We called the repairman and he said he couldn’t be here till today (Tuesday).  That’s ALMOST A FULL WEEK OF NO CLEAN LAUNDRY IN A HOUSE WHERE MOST OF THE CLOTHES WERE ALREADY DIRTY!  IN A HOUSE WITH A TODDLER!  IN A HOUSE WITH A PASTOR WHO NEEDS TO LOOK GOOD FAST!  IN A HOUSE WITH A WIFE WHO HAS BEEN EATING ENOUGH BUTTER THAT THE PANTS THAT FIT HER NEED TO BE WASHED OFTEN BECAUSE THERE’S NOT THAT MANY THAT FIT!

So, naturally, we tried to call another repairman.  He said, “Sure, I can probably come on Friday.  Call right away Friday morning.”

So we did.  But the receptionist couldn’t find the company owner, who was out in the field.  We kept calling all day.  Finally when the guy bothered to call us, we were about to leave the house for a church engagement.  So he said he’d come on Saturday, between 1-2.  We waited.  And waited.  And waited.  HE NEVER CALLED.  Not that day.  Not the next day.  Not at all, since then. I can understand that people get held up sometimes.  Maybe they are doing a job that should be quick that goes much longer than they expected.  Maybe something comes up with their family.  Maybe they get in a freakin’ car accident.  Life happens.  But if you tell a customer you will be there, call them and let them know what happened.  Apologize.  That would be nice.

Rather than hire a private eye to look into the case of the missing repairman, we decided to wait for the other guy to come on Tuesday.  Happily, Christopher had had the foresight to keep that appointment.  And Christopher did four enormous loads of laundry at the Laundromat, which he then brought back and I dried in our dryer one by one.  It took all night.  Did I mention that was a lot of laundry?

So we waited till Tuesday.  In the meantime, half of our water heater broke.  It was getting difficult to keep the Miller family clean and free from odors.  And of course, in my brilliance, I decided this would be the perfect weekend for a fish fry.  I apologize to anybody who happened to smell us.

Finally, today the repairman came.  Oh, my goodness, I was so happy when he turned up right on time.  He took things apart and found two color catchers and a baby mitten clogging things up.  That’s why the washing machine wouldn’t drain.  A simple problem with an easy solution. 

Woo-Eeee!  I am so excited!  I have a washing machine again!  I have clean clothes again!  Pee-pee and poopy can be dealt with and vanquished!  Hubby can be prepared for any pastoral emergency.  And I…?  I can finally wash those stinky, stinky slippers…and everything that smells like fried fish...I, my friends, can begin to smell nice again.

It’s the simple things in life….it’s the simple things…