This week has been an absolute blur. I have been seriously procrastinating when it comes to writing about an issue I have been struggling with for the past few months, for fear of the emotions I know will arise once I put pen to paper (or fingers to laptop keyboard). So the procrastination continues…
But for now, a factual account will suffice. My mom moved this week, from the house she purchased when I was 4 years old. We tackled closets on Tuesday, since the painter needed to paint. and we moved everything else on Thursday and Friday.
My aunt, uncle, and cousin are all moving in to Mom’s old house, so while she was moving out, she was also giving the house a face lift (while also renovating her new house – HEADACHE for all involved, I assure you). So while we (and movers) were in and out moving things, there was a party, complete with a contractor, painter, plumber, carpet cleaners, house cleaners, and a host of other characters in this drama that would unfold Thursday afternoon.
After meeting the movers, loading/unloading cars, taking a lunch break, moving things out of the way for cleaners, Mom, Aunt Sheila, and I decided to go get ice cream. Since we found ourselves somewhat close to Mom’s new house, we decided to go unload Aunt Sheila’s car. As we finished and prepared to return to the old house, Mom’s cell phone rings. It’s the contractor.
The house is on fire.
The plumber was soldering a pipe, and the flame from the torch jumped and caught on to the insulation in the laundry room. When we turned onto the street, we wondered if the house was still standing, because there were 4 engines, a ladder truck, the chief’s truck, and an ambulance. But we were assured by one of the fire fighters that it looked worse than it was. They had to send the whole department, because they needed enough people on hand to relieve each other.
The damage was minimal, and thank God the fire department is only about ¼ mile from the house. The fire chief said that it helped tremendously, as they were able to stop it before it did too much damage.
What a physically and emotionally draining day!
Oh. And I tried to avoid eye contact with the firefighters. Some of them have seen me half naked (fall down the stairs and a yellow jacket sting years ago). Let that be a lesson. Stay decently dressed when you’re just “hangin’ around the house”. You never know what can happen! ☺ Here are the rest of the pictures.