Category: Gratitude

Do you Remember

Ok, Ok, I know that I have mentioned my memories of living in a mobile home in a less than favorable manner.  Last week I told of one particular incident on my ugly list, but I am not one that often forms a major opinion over one tiny mishap, even thought it was a mutant spider!  So, I am going to share some of my more memorable uglies, to regale you with, followed by my revised opinion.

So here is a quick memory that is probably up in my top gaggometer list.  I do not think this incident has anything whatsoever to do with living in a mobile home, but since the atrocity occurred inside such residence, it is gonna get the blame!  Ah, the still quiet of the evening was lovely, on this particularly warm summer night.  I geared up for some fun Red Green episodes that played on the local television network, climbing into bed with an iced glass of watermelon Kool-Aid.  I temporarily forgot about said drink, for maybe half an hour, if that.  Once it occurred to me that I was thirsty, I reached over in the dark, grabbing the glass and taking a substantial drink.  What followed, there in the darkness, was a mouthful of red Kool-Aid mixed with many, many, many, sugar ants, being spewed across what once was a lovely bedspread!  Right?!?!

The next mention is a shout out to my middle child, who for whatever reason a teenager needs, decided it would be a great idea to roast marshmallows on her bed with the window open.  We smelled smoke and opened the door to see the two of them sitting there with a disposable tin pie dish, popsicle sticks, and toilet paper alight right in the middle of her bed.  I believe that it was this incident that caused a hole in the floor, resulting from the leg of the bed popping through when they jumped up and panicked! 

All was well, so no need to panic, but I had to share this part so that the main story would be easier in the telling…

So, how would a hole in the floor be necessary information, you ask?  We did not notice it for a while, in truth, because a teenager keeps more clothing on the floor than any other part of their room.  Perhaps, a month went by from the marshmallow mayhem, when my daughter mentioned to us that she could here something under her floor during the night.  My husband assured her that it was nothing, perhaps a stray cat underneath the skirting of the trailer.  This went on for a week, maybe more, and I was getting irritated with the bellyaching coming from the adolescent peanut gallery. 

It was maybe 3 a.m. when my babybug burst into our room in a panic.  Her eyes were big as an owl, as she literally drug me by my arm toward her room!  I kid you not, just as I flicked the light on, I saw a giant pink nose come right up through that hole under her bed, disappearing with a huge bite of floor material.  Before my husband was even fully awake to take stock of the situation, I ran and grabbed a jug of bleach, Sculpy clay, and clear packaging tape!  If you judge me for such ridiculous problem-solving skills, I swear I might just reach through the screen and flick your ear.  Just so you know, we never did fix that floor before we ended up moving on, so technically it DID work!

As I walked back through these uglies, as I once termed them, I had a beautiful epiphany! I do not actually hate, nor want to forget a single one of these memories, and I will tell you why.  That part of my journey was a time that my middle daughter actually came and lived with us until she graduated high school.  Of all three daughters, she has been the only one who refuses to hold anger towards me, and I hope that maybe it is from the SPIDER, the ANTS, the SMORES, the CREATURE FROM UNDER THE FLOOR (probably just a possum), or any other story from that list of so called Uglies.

Now when I tell you the stories from back then, they are simply funny and beautiful, and worth every precious moment…