Surprises

Early Saturday morning, we headed to Ohio to help my parents tear down their deck and pool. Mom called last week to invite me to join her for a birthday dinner Saturday evening even though we had a lot of work to do. As it turns out, Mother Nature deleted working plans that afternoon and evening anyway. We cleaned up and headed to Donatos to pick up pizza for everyone else before embarking upon our mini celebration. While waiting in the drive thru line, I recognized a familiar car and was straining a bit to see if it was in fact the car I thought it was when Kristin, Jill and Cherie approached us. I was beyond surprised. I was kidnapped and my mom was responsible. She went back to the house to have pizza while I went out for dinner and dessert with these incredible women. I was completely shocked and repeated far too often, "I can't believe you are all here!" It has been a very long time since we were all together. The night was perfect.

On Sunday we hoped to make up for our rain-out on Saturday afternoon but was instead met with monsoon level rains and the entire work day was lost. Lauren and Erin stayed home this trip to maintain their own jobs. Mid-morning, Lauren called worried she was seeing a wet spot on the ceiling in her room.

She texted a photo confirming. While Greg and I considered our next move, I was able to reach a dear friend who will remain nameless. That friend crawled across rafters in my attic to investigate the source of our leak. She pulled all the saturated insulation away from the spot and bagged it for us. She determined we didn't have an active leak because it was raining throughout her investigation and nothing further was dripping from the roof. While she was on the phone with me and I was gushing my appreciation, she mis-gauged the amount of weight she placed onto the wet ceiling and her arm went through. She was horrified and upset. I couldn't stop laughing. I did ask her to get out of the attic before she was injured but assured her this was not a big deal and easily repaired. She is still upset.

I let Greg know what happened and he also laughed, relieved it was an issue that could wait until he returned home as scheduled later in the week. Sunday evening was perfect hot tub weather and the sun showed up long enough to set. It was gorgeous and provided a hint we'd finally have a solid work day on Monday.

Monday arrived with cool temperatures and clear skies. We had a lot of work to accomplish in a very short time. All four adults worked until they couldn't move any further. Even the little ones contributed for a few minutes. The entire deck was removed as well as the pool liner. In a moment of frustration, Greg tossed a support post he had fought for entirely too long across the yard and knocked out a privacy fence board. My dad started yelling through laughter, "Dude, not those! We have enough wood to remove back here! Let's leave the fence!" Greg later retorted, "I like your knickers" while we all laughed once again. The mud made the job far more challenging than necessary and we weren't yet finished when I had to leave but overall, despite the weather, a few set backs and minor injuries it was a successful trip.

For the record, Dad doesn't make looking like this a habit. He was in the pool while the liner was being ripped out. Thanks to all the rain and and pump that couldn't keep up, he was wading through water at one point in our day. 

I hit the road after dinner Monday and four and a half hours later finally pulled into our driveway exhausted. Construction delays, road blocks and potty breaks creating a much longer drive than expected. Surprise! Again.

Someone couldn't stop playing at Grandpa's house long enough to eat dinner and took it with him. Five minutes after leaving Grandpa's, he was sound asleep and remained that way until 6:50 this morning when I woke up to him, "organizing (his) tools" in his bedroom. This little man is his father's child. 

This evening Greg sent this shot to show what he helped accomplish today while I babysat five extra little ones, mowed the yard, grocery shopped and washed the muddy laundry. Believe me, he still wins for toughest work load. That pool was installed over 20 years ago and had no intention of leaving anytime soon. It put up a fight worth noting. Helping my parents prepare for retirement and relocation away from the area I still consider home left me a bit somber as I departed last evening. I suppose over time, wherever my family lands will be home but for now, this mud pit of a back yard holds a lot of precious memories.