Overflowing

This week – or at least a portion of it – was the 2020 of weeks. I saw that description on a friend’s social media feed and it so resonated.

For the rest of our lives, “2020” will probably be synonymous with disappointment, missed moments, frustration and sadness. Hopefully we will balance with a few other feelings like perspective, patience, gratitude and perseverance. Hopefully.

But this week was a real doozy. So late this week, I was ready to call uncle. Ready to retreat to my sanctuary for some relaxation and recharging. This, is my bathtub.

She has largely been ignored this summer. I’m more of a dead-of-winter/rainy night bather. Then, I find it very peaceful to light some candles, turn on Norah Jones, and disappear into a good book while floating in my tub.

But in the summer, it’s hot. I would rather recharge outside in the sun as the sun baby I have always been.

But this week. Bath time was in order. So I disappeared from my family. Turned on the bath. Got my favorite things ready for bath time.

And then, hmmm….why is the bath tub taking so long to fill up? So annoying. And then. Whoa! Where is all of this water coming from? All over the floor. In large puddles.

And then I see…the fancy part of the tub faucet filler (which has never been used – the hand shower part – why do they even make these??) is facing the wrong direction. Not into the tub, as a faucet should. But pointing the exact other direction – pouring water on the floor. This is clearly the wrong way.

Our cleaning ladies had set it backwards the last time they were here and I neglected to notice. Oops.

I soaked six large bath towels soaking up water at about the same time I hear my husband shout my name. The water wasn’t just on the floor – it was flowing into my daughter’s closet directly below our master bathroom. Oops.

But I was committed. This girl was recharging. So after the clean-up, I took my bath. Unfortunately it just wasn’t the same. Oh well.

So onto the rest of the night. And I could not have written this next part if I were writing a sitcom comedy for work. Within the next ten minutes, I found a messy pile requiring cleanup on one of my favorite rugs. Grr. I had literally just cleaned it up and was putting away cleaning supplies when I hear my dog gag. I started to hustle to pull her off the only carpet on our main floor (in my daughter’s room) and she barfed a huge pile of dog food – right on the carpet.

REALLY UNIVERSE?

At this point, I just had to laugh. Literally cracked up. After a simply horrible day, I managed to flood our bathroom, clean up one rug and then a pile of dog barf – within 30 minutes.

In such moments, there is nothing to do but know tomorrow has to be better. Time to do something super safe like collapse on the couch with all the Netflix. And a big glass of wine.

Because even during a day that overflows with challenges, you can usually find a reason to smile. Even if it is the absolute absurdness of the day.