Less Than Zero

This morning, the pipes in our bathroom burst as I was feverishly trying to thaw them. Specifically the pipes behind the shower.

The previous owner, when renovating and installing the bathroom years ago, failed to put in shut off valves which proved (up to this point anyway) disastrous. I raced down into the basement to shut the water off to the bathroom and could find no valve. After three more trips up and down the basement stairs, looking and looking, I finally got the previous owner out of bed with a frantic call. I learned that I needed to shut the water off to the entire home.

I sit in our living room writing this, awaiting the arrival of my brother-in-law and my sister's boyfriend, both of whom have the knowledge and equipment to fix the pipes. I'm tired. Corrine is tired, and crying, and our bathroom is destroyed.

This is not an exaggeration. The floor, the sub floor, the baseboards are soaked and ruined. They will need to be replaced. The pipe that burst will more than likely not be the only one. When you shut the water off to the house, there is still water in the pipes, unless you blow it out.

It's 26 degrees below zero outside. The day care - our source of income - had to be closed. No running water means no bathroom breaks, no way to make lunch (unless you make them sandwiches).

Fallon's birthday is today and I called her at her mother's and sang Happy Birthday to her. The party we had been planning for her will now have to be moved to my parents and there's a good chance we will not be able to buy her the gift we wanted to.

Oh, and the truck wouldn't start because of the cold.

And the furnace will not keep running and needs to be restarted constantly.

We sleep on mattresses in the living room during the night to conserve heat.

We have the wood stoves in the kitchen and the living room going, with sheets hung in the doorways to keep both rooms warm. Therefore, when you walk through the rest of the house, you can see your breath.

I am searching for the humor, because that is what we have left at this point and that is my primary coping device.

I'm sitting here writing this with my winter jacket on, my boots, and Gabrielle sits next to me eating apple slices and caramel dip watching Toy Story 2.

How's that for funny?