We have thought about downsizing for some time now. Our house is way too big for the two of us (even if you count the cat). The way things turned out this week, I'm glad we haven't!
I got a call from daughter Carrie this past Saturday evening. I thought maybe it was one of the grandkids because we rarely use the phone to talk. I answered and she says, "Can you come get the kids because the fire department is on the way!?!" We headed out the door...
It turns out they noticed smoke coming from the back wall of their house. When we arrived the fire department was already there and they had the siding pealed back and the electrical meter pried off and there were several char marks up the back side of their house. Fortunately there were no flames.
We took the kids to our house, and the fire department ended up having to shut up the house (temporarily condemn it) since there was no electricity. I guess they gave them an hour to get what they needed and leave.
So Drew Carrie worked diligently to get school clothes, backpacks, food, and other necessities - and their cat! I'm sure we could have managed regardless of our house size, but I'm thankful we have three bedrooms, two full baths, and a full basement in which we can comfortably house all seven of us humans and two felines. The kids are all in one bedroom and each set of adults has their own room. Their cat has the upstairs, and ours can keep quietly in the downstairs where she normally is anyway.
To be honest, going from living with one other person to six other persons is quite different. Our routine is pretty... routine. However, it hasn't been so bad having a little extra 'life' added to the scene. We feel fortunate to have the house we have, space where we don't smother one another, live in the same town and get to hang out with our grandkids and kids. We are also quite thankful all of this happened when they were home, and awake! Things could have been so much worse.
At this point I haven't pried too much about what caused the fire, what's being done, or any type of time table. The son-in-law has been on top of it and I don't want to interfere. So I'm just taking things one day at a time and trying to enjoy the time we get with the wee ones.
They were hoping they might get to move back in before the weekend, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. Sounds like there are some deeper electrical issues, plus the added pleasure of having to deal with the city, insurance company, and neighborhood association.
Anyway, that's what's been happening in our little corner of the world...
No comments:
Post a Comment