One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Every morning I try to make a little progress upstairs before going downstairs for breakfast. This usually means we don't eat breakfast until 10AM, but I'm totally fine with that because none of us are anxious to hang out downstairs where the temperature is about 67 degrees in the morning.

This weekend in the bedrooms and office organization process, most of the excess junk and trash made it's way into the hallway. I've been slowly throwing things out, putting them in their places, and tidying up. This morning I decided to take care of the 8 six gallon buckets of food that were in the hallway. (And to all concerned family and friends, I did not lift them, but kind of rolled them into the closet.) I did lift a couple, but they didn't weigh any more than my 34 pound son that I pretty much carry up to bed every night.

Anyway, I was so proud of myself and satisfied that I accomplished something already that morning. I knew I was going to pay a price for it later in the day with some posterior pelvic pain, but I thought it would be worth it. I was soon to be proven wrong. At about noon my husband called me and asked me to do a favor for him on his computer. Now keep in mind that the food closet is the closet in the office that has my husband's computer. So since mother and children are like magnets, my children followed me to my husband's room. Bradley, Sarah, Wendy, and Jason were using the closet as their "clubhouse" and I let them go in there to hang out while I completed my assigned task. I assumed that there wasn't any danger in a closet of several buckets and was safer than around all the computer equipment. Well, I assumed wrong. I forgot to foresee that the wire shelving would be a temptation for small children. They must have been playing monkeys or something. I soon heard a huge CRASH, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, followed by some whimpers and crying. The 6 foot long wire shelving had torn out of the dry wall causing 2 kids to be buried by 23 #10 cans. We were fortunate that no major injuries occured, except for a minor goose egg on Sarah's head. She was reluctant to admit that she was one of the monkeys hanging on the shelf. She felt really bad. And unfortunately for my blog it wasn't a moment I felt like taking a picture of at the time. I wasn't angry at my kids because I understand that they couldn't predict that drywall isn't strong enough to hold all that weight. I was just angry at the situation. Bradley told me that he couldn't stop shaking when it happened because it scared him so much. Wendy told me that she thinks spiders are going to come out of the holes in the drywall.

So, all my progress was in vain because now I have 23 #10 cans and 6 large peanut butter jars in my hallway until I figure out a way to fix this shelf. ***SIGH*** I guess I can use it as a lesson on physics and the properties of drywall for school.

I look forward to a day when I can take two steps forward and only one step back.

At least this little boy helped me to put away the 4 boxes of Great Value saltines I bought at the grocery store on Saturday. Go Jason!