About Heather Camlot
A freelance writer, crafts junkie and mom of two, Heather Camlot is constantly on the lookout for that elusive work-life balance she hears so much about. Read about Heather's never ending search for five minutes to herself while trying to meet deadlines, make the school bus and raise two fantastic children.
I’m already crafting this article in my mind as I stand toe-deep in water in my basement.
Toe deep, you say, that’s not much at all. Sure, I suppose it’s not A LOT of water, but if you knew how it came to be in my basement, you’d be a little more sympathetic.
Let’s take a trip back, shall we?
We had just finished a lovely dinner of Juliana’s choosing – tacos. The idea and meal were very well received, indeed. After dinner, Marc and I began cleaning up the kitchen and the kids went to play – in the bathroom. We weren’t keeping track of time, just chatting and happy that the kids ate well.
A few minutes later, Alexandre comes running out of the bathroom, covering a smile on his face and saying, “We have a small problem.” We turned anxiously as he continued: “We were cleaning the toilet...” Marc flew into the bathroom and rightfully freaked out. There was water everywhere. Alexandre and Juliana had put at least half a box of tissue and a roll of toilet paper into the toilet bowl and tried to flush. They tried again, and the whole thing flooded over.
Marc grabbed a plunger and got the toilet moving again, but there was so much water that it poured all over the nearby stairs to the basement and into the cold room below.
Juliana was hiding behind the door, unable to figure out a safe and dry way out. Alexandre still thought it was funny, until he was forced to help clean it all up. Then he gave himself a time-out, which he believed meant he could sit in his tent in the basement and play. I told him and a recovered Juliana to sit on the sofa and not move. Juliana cried, then helped dry the stairs. Alexandre got up and helped dry the upstairs floor.
Half an hour later, everything was as dry as we could get it. Marc turned on a fan in the bathroom to help get out the extra moisture and we went back to cleaning the kitchen. We obviously had a stern talking with both kids and told them they are forbidden to clean the bathroom (I know, that sounds weird) or plug any drain. They can go in for the normal reasons: wash hands, take a bath or shower, brush teeth and sit on the toilet, not necessarily in that order.
Marc thinks Alexandre gets it. But I’m not so sure he understands how much damage all that water could have caused. I even tried to put it in financial terms for my little Alex P. Keaton to comprehend, but I don’t think that worked either. He was still smiling about it while I said good night.
I really do hope Marc is right. I hope Alexandre and Juliana remember what they did and think twice before “trying to help” (I know, still sounds weird). Because really, a clean bathroom is useless if the house surrounding it is crumbling to the ground.
