Trust Me, You’ll Laugh Tomorrow

I love Thanksgiving.  It’s the official kick-off of the holiday season.  As I sit this morning and reflect on Thanksgivings gone by I am reminded of one particular year that my sister came to visit and the disaster that ensued that day.  Normally, I would be up bright and early to start preparations for the big day.  On this specific day, however, my husband offered to let me sleep in a little longer.  He said he would get up and start preparing the turkey and would let me know if he needed any help.  What could possibly go wrong?

A short time later I was shaken from my slumber by the sound of my husband bellowing at the top of his lungs.  Bleary-eyed, I jumped out of bed and jammed on my slippers.  I ran as quickly as I could down the stairs.  I envisioned the dogs stealing the raw turkey and running wild through the house with it.  That was the only logical explanation I could think of as my husband shouted my name in an utter panic!  Surely the dogs had stolen the bird and were now playing tug of war with it!

I made it to the bottom of the stairs and ran into the kitchen fully expecting to see my husband in an all-out battle for the bird.  That was not the case, however, as the turkey was sitting on the kitchen counter just as pretty as you please.  I was confused now and not sure why I had been summoned in such a state of panic.

As I stepped into the kitchen, however, my slippers were instantly soaked with water.  I froze and looked down.  What I saw was incomprehensible.  The entire kitchen floor appeared to be several inches deep in moving water.  I couldn’t make sense of the situation.  First, how had my kitchen been turned into a river and second how could such a flat surface hold so much water?

I know that I probably screamed something at this point which promptly brought my sister downstairs. Perhaps she joined in the screaming as well, I don’t quite recall.  I do remember that it was all hands on deck at that point as we tried to manage the catastrophe that was quickly unfolding before our eyes.

My husband ran over and turned off the overflowing sink that was causing the flood.  He then began chasing our large, water-loving Labrador retrievers who were having a fine time jumping up and down in the water.   Meanwhile, I grabbed a dustpan and tossed my sister a big plastic bowl.  My idea was to scoop the water out through glass sliding door in the kitchen onto the back deck.

I thought this was a great idea until I rolled open the door and realized that it was pouring down rain outside!  Immediately, gale-force winds whipped the curtains back and drove rain into our faces as my sister and I knelt on the floor in our pajamas trying desperately to scoop up water and toss it out the back door.  I felt like the Gorton’s fisherman besting a storm on a ship as it tossed on the waves.  If only I had a large yellow slicker instead of the soggy pajamas that were now plastered to my body.

My husband began gathering towels and anything else that would absorb liquid from every corner of the house and eventually we managed to mop up the remainder of the Chattahoochee River that had crested in my kitchen.   We managed to dry everything out, including ourselves, and were even able to cook a fine Thanksgiving meal. 

The insurance adjuster arrived a few days later.  As it turned out, I got a brand new kitchen out of the uproar!  New countertops, new backsplash, new sink and even new flooring!   What some may have called a disaster I simply called a remodel.  So remember, whatever happens, even if you run across a “disaster” today, just chalk it up as an excellent story for the future. 

I hope you all have a wonderfully-thankful-and-disaster-free Thanksgiving!