Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Saturday, July 27, 2013

Our Un-Vacation

This week's words filter, squash, sour, dancing, muscle, breakthrough, from Delores of The Feathered Nest actually fit in with my frame of mind. Genius!

Why is it whenever you go on holiday, everything back home disintegrates?
It’s true.
The world waits for your vehicle to clear the driveway.
Then it falls apart.
Case in point . . .
My Husby and I were recently on our much-anticipated annual pilgrimage to the Great Canadian North Woods with our good friends.
All was well for the first 24 hours.
Then my phone buzzed.
I know, I know. Why did I take my phone with me on holiday?!
First mistake.
Moving on . . .
It started out innocently enough:
Tiana: Is it pouring out there? It sure is here!
Me: It is!!!
Then . . .
Tiana: My floor is all wet. Something tells me the wall shouldn’t look like this…
Tiana spent the next day keeping us apprised of her dance around puddles, cutting out drywall, arranging fans, breathing sour air, moving upstairs.
I spent the day worrying.
Then . . .
Tiana: Unrelatedly: the pool is almost 2 feet lower than it was yesterday…?
Somehow, we had lost 100 gallons of water. Our new vinyl pool was suddenly looking like a squashed tomato.
Me: Did it split somewhere? Is it lower than the filter? Maybe you should unplug it.
She could find nothing wrong, but again, I spent the day worrying.
Sigh.
Then, from our daughter-in-law:
Barb: Our van overheated. We had it towed in to Canadian Tire. It’s going to cost $3300.00 to fix.
This on a van that not even worth $2000.00.
Oh, no! How will they be able to afford a new van? They just bought a house . . . Okay, yes, it was their problem, but I worry.
Then . . .
Barb: I passed out yesterday. Caitlin is over, looking after the kids. I’m really sick.
You know the saying, ‘It never rains but it pours’?
Well, it was definitely raining. And pouring.
More worrying.
Somehow, our kids managed to muscle through.
And Husby’s and my seven little days of ‘vacation’ ended.
Since we got home, all has been quiet.
The kids bought a new (to them) van for a very good deal and our daughter-in-law is once more healthy and happy.
The bedroom (minus a large chunk of drywall) is dried out and our daughter happily re-entrenched.
And the pool has been refilled following a lengthy inspection which turned up nothing.
So what happened?
For our daughter in law? Broken vans, kids and heat and worry.
The soaked bedroom and the leaky pool? I had a breakthrough. I realized that the pool cover had become so full during that rainstorm that it had forced one side of the pool down and flushed out a great wave of water.
That had inundated our daughter’s room.
Both problems were actually the same problem.
The solution?
We do have one! We’ll never go on vacation again.

It’s too exhausting. J

14 comments:

  1. Oh, wow. Gives new meaning to the phrase "when it rains, it pours" ... Today's label sums it up well!

    What a shame you couldn't just put your feet up and relax. Hopefully it's all over now.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So rare! That has to be the once in a lifetime vacation. I think it is safe to go on another vacation. --Leave the phone at home this time.

    Love,
    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  3. Definitely leave the phone at home next time....by the time you get home everything will have been sorted and you will have saved yourself all that worry. (At least, if you take it, keep it turned off until you need to make a call.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Always take your leash (cellphone) but only turn it on at certain times of the day, then turn it right off again. Your kids are going to experience crises from time to time but they learn to overcome them on their own, just like we did.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Remember when we didn't have mobile phones and people could not always get in contact with us? Times were easier and less stressful then.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I did have to smile just a little on this one. We went on a cruise many years ago and while we were gone. We had a painter who was painting the outside of our house. He used a broken facet and the basement was flooded. My son at the time was 17 years old. He did get hold of us on the ship. I managed to handle the situation well; but it did put a little damper on the trip. We now hesitate to take any real for away trips.
    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh. My. Goodness. Definitely would have put a 'damp'er on my trip!

      Delete
  7. This is possibly why I avoided going on vacation for so long. I hate coming home to a messed up house and yard.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting! Drop by again!

Real Estates: All Murders Included in the Price!

Real Estates: All Murders Included in the Price!
My FIRST murder mystery!

Blessed by a Curse

Blessed by a Curse
My very first Medieval Romance!

God's Tree

God's Tree
For the Children

Third in the series

Third in the series
Deborah. Fugitive of Faith

The Long-Awaited Sequel to Daughter of Ishmael

The Long-Awaited Sequel to Daughter of Ishmael
A House Divided is now available at all fine bookstores and on Amazon.com and .ca!

Daughter of Ishmael

Daughter of Ishmael
Now available at Amazon.com and .ca and Chapters.ca and other fine bookstores.

Romance still wins!

Romance still wins!
First romance in a decade!

Hosts: Your Room's Ready

Hosts: Your Room's Ready
A fun romp through the world's most haunted hotel!

Hugs, Delivered.

Compass Book Ratings

Compass Book Ratings

Ghost of the Overlook

Ghost of the Overlook
Need a fright?

My Granddaughter is Carrying on the Legacy!

My Granddaughter is Carrying on the Legacy!
New Tween Novel!

Gnome for Christmas

Gnome for Christmas
The newest in my Christmas Series

SnowMan

SnowMan
A heart warming story of love and sacrifice.

Translate

My novel, Carving Angels

My novel, Carving Angels
Read it! You know you want to!

My Second Novel: Kris Kringle's Magic

My Second Novel: Kris Kringle's Magic
What could be better than a second Christmas story?!

Join me on Maven

Connect with me on Maven

Essence

Essence
A scientist and his son struggle to keep their earth-shattering discovery out of the wrong hands.

Essence: A Second Dose

Essence: A Second Dose
Captured and imprisoned, a scientist and his son use their amazing discovery to foil evil plans.

Looking for a Great Read?

E-Books by Diane Stringam Tolley
Available from Smashwords.com

The Babysitter

The Babysitter
A baby-kidnapping ring has its eye on J'Aime and her tiny niece.

Melissa

Melissa
Haunted by her past, Melissa must carve a future. Without Cain.

Devon

Devon
Following tragedy, Devon retreats to the solitude of the prairie. Until a girl is dropped in his lap.

Pearl, Why You Little...

Pearl, Why You Little...
Everyone should spend a little time with Pearl!

The Marketing Mentress

The Marketing Mentress
Building solid relationships with podcast and LinkedIn marketing

Coffee Row

Coffee Row
My Big Brother's Stories

Better Blogger Network

Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis
I've been given an award!!!

The Liebster Award

The Liebster Award
My good friend and Amazing Blogger, Marcia of Menopausal Mother awarded me . . .

Irresistibly Sweet Award

Irresistibly Sweet Award
Delores, my good friend from The Feathered Nest, has nominated me!

Sunshine Award!!!

Sunshine Award!!!
My good friend Red from Oz has nominated me!!!

My very own Humorous Blogger Award From Delores at The Feathered Nest!

Be Courageous!


Grab and Add!

Search This Blog

Ghost of the Overlook

Ghost of the Overlook
Need a fright?