Living a country song

Today was one of those days. Ten-fold.

The forecast was brutal. The weathermen around here don't use the phrase "treacherous driving conditions" lightly, and they used it today. So I had to postpone the much-anticipated birthday party for my soon-to-be 4-year old. There were new plans to be made, and phonecalls to make.

Then there were the gobs of snow to deal with. Of course the plow on my husband's truck broke the other day, so we took to the shovel and antique snow blower. My husband did the job really, but sheesh, the guy's just getting over the flu!

"I can at least make a cake and have the neighbors over," I thought. A mini birthday party. They'd just have to walk across the street - no dangerous driving. They were game.

So I made a cake from scratch. It sank. Then it fell apart into several pieces when I dumped it out of the pans. It was not a good start to the day.

And then I realized there was no hot water. For no good reason! Other than, come to find out, our hot water tank had died.

Being a resourceful kind of guy, my husband had a spare water heater that he'd planned to use to set up an alternate water heating system (involving our wood stove - don't ask). We weren't certain it would work -- it was purchased used, and we'd never tried it. But plumb it he did, and electrify it too (the old one was gas).

Meanwhile, I set out to the mega huge Mart by us for ice cream and various other items for our mini-party. And of course that's what 13,000 other people do during a snow and sleet storm. The parking lot was insane. Inside was no better, with shopping carts bumper to bumper. Naturally, I got the last cart in the corral -- the one that veers right. You know the one. And as I walked around the store, listening to that incessant "BEEP!" from the cash registers no matter what corner of the store you're in... I realized that this was nuts. Heading out in a snowstorm for party supplies, after you've rescheduled the real party. Or was it? I think I was fueled by mother love, and I pressed on to gather what I needed, no matter the mental cost.

And because I'm a notoriously bad cell phone owner, after an hour at the Mart, I returned to my car to see that I'd left my phone off the entire time. It wasn't til I pulled into my driveway that I got my husband's message. He needed soldering paste. Back to the Mart I went, because I so enjoyed my first trip. No such plumbing supply there. My heart sank. But I headed on to Home Depot anyway. I'm pretty sure I was fueled by adrenalin at this point. I was afraid to drive further, because the weathermen were right: the roads actually were treacherous. But we needed hot water at home, and my husband needed my help getting supplies. I was the one who was out erranding in the mess.

When I returned home with the the soldering paste and the new circuit breaker we needed, I decided I'd earned my Home Depot merit badge. Yeah, the employees made sure I had the right stuff, but have you ever looked for a needle in the haystack that is the electrical department? Or worse yet, plumbing? Oy.

By then (4:30pm), I had 1.5 hours til the neighbors' arrival. What the hell was I thinking? I looked around the house and remembered why I'd planned a party elsewhere. My house is small. It's crowded. And a mess. I still had the massacred cake to frost, too. And a picnic dinner to put together. Did I mention that the water was turned off and the sink was overflowing with dishes and pans?

Miraculously, with my mother-in-law's help, we did the impossible. We prepared goodie bags, and pin the tail on the donkey. We set out snacks and party decorations. We blew up balloons. I frosted a cake and cut up vegetables (which were washed with a damp paper towel). We stashed the clutter. Some of it, anyway. We closed doors left and right. We were ready.

They came. We ate. Kids played. And had a blast. The mini party was a hit. And it was even worth all the scrambling.

But I'm not up for another day like that anytime soon. At least if I have a say!

Comments

[Virginia]

Wow - stressful day! Glad everything turned out in the end.

Stopping by for the Suburban Turmoil Blog Hopping Weekend :-)

[Sarcasmo]

THis will be one of those family stories you are reteling when your son is 30. Dare I say it, but things could always be worse. And yes you are insane for being out shopping for party supplies in that weather, but would have done the same. And anyway, you would have had to make the home depot run.

[Bluegrass Mama]

Glad you made it home all right (though I was sure that "bakery cake" was on your shopping list; glad you were able to salvage the homemade one). And happy almost birthday to the boy!

[kristi]

You poor thing! You remind little K of your efforts when he's a mouthy teenager. "I drove through a blizzard so you could have a birthday party!"

[Melody]

My goodness. You should be called SuperMarie!! You're not going to forget this birthday party in a hurry are you?

[nat]

I don't know that I could have pulled that off, Marie, but of COURSE you did! Amazing!

Glad you had a great time despite the setbacks!

[Suburban Turmoil]

Those are the days you earn the right to call yourself a Mother!! Happy birthday to your sweet little son! Punky's birthday is coming up next month and Bruiser's is Friday! Oy!

[CollegeRoomie]

Happy Birthday, K! Sounds like the party was a hit. Way to go, M.

[Tammy]

Ok, now I'm tired! How I don't miss that weather....altho it is pouring rain here right now, so much for going to the beach.

Give your lil' guy a birthday hug for me!

[InterstellarLass]

I'm convinced people should just show up, drop off the present, give a birthday hug & kiss, and that's it. Parties (hosting any event of any kind really) are SO stressful! Glad it came off without a hitch for you though!