The Gifts Keep Coming

It felt like this for a while. 

During the course of the year we have received countless gifts from friends, family, and coworkers for our son. Having now lived through this, I can say that this is the time in life when you see the greatest amount of generosity. The first couple of months of the year saw the greatest deluge of packages and envelopes, but there is still a light trickle of gifts even as we head into the fall. It is pretty amazing the amount of items we have received over the months and we continue to be thankful for each and every item that we receive (even the ones that we return or exchange).

Admittedly, it can be a little daunting at times with the amount of stuff that has accumulated in our house but, in the end, it is all stuff that we have had to purchase anyway. It is interesting to think about the number of things and boxes that we originally moved into the apartment four years ago, the increased amount of stuff that we moved from the apartment to our current house, and the volume that will have to be packed and moved to our next home. And I am sure that the accumulation won’t stop there either.

I wish that I was as thoughtful as many of the people that we have in our life. Time and again, I have been presented with the same or similar opportunities and for one reason or another (usually finances or forgetfulness) too long a time passes and the opportunity is gone. I certainly have to get better at this as it is also a time to pay it forward and show the same generosity that has been shown to us. Hopefully there are many more opportunities coming up.

Sometimes I forget about just how great many of the people in our life are and this experience has been a clear reminder of quality of people that we have in our life. And don’t get me wrong, it is not about the numbers. Some of the greatest (and many time most useful) items have been the small thoughtful things that served us well during this learning process. Sometimes it wasn’t even a gift. There have been many times when the help or a willing ear have meant a great deal when we needed them. The gifts have only proven even more how much others car about us and our son. That is what it is all about and that is what we try to convey to our son each and every day.

Why Am I So Tired?

After a longer than expected evening at the lodge (for good reason), I headed back to the apartment only to find that the fire department was using the front driveway of the building as a parking lot. It’s kind of sad, but this happens so often that I didn’t think much of it as I walked across the parking lot and opened the door. However, as soon as I put down my work bag I knew that it was going to be one of those nights. Within moments of walking through the kitchen and pulling the strap off my shoulder, the fire alarm began blaring.

Both from living in the building and working the front desk, I knew that this wasn’t going to go away quickly so I headed to the lobby to try and get some additional information on the situation. Can’t say that I was surprised when no one really knew what was going on at first and the president of the board refused to do anything beyond sitting in a chair and holding out her hand so the passersby could more easily kiss the ring. 45 minutes later and a couple of culprits emerged, neither of which involved smoke or fire.

As it turns out there was a faulty sensor in the pump room and some dust also got into the detector in one of the hallways 6 months finally getting drywall replaced 6-8 months after the bust pipe. With my wife only a few minutes away after her long day at work, I was glad that things seemed to be getting resolved. I really should know better!

Having not had time to eat before the debacle, I made a small snack as we talked about all that had happened during our days and the mess that was unfolding in the building. We got into bed around 11:00 and began slowly settling into sleep since we both had a long day ahead of us. With our eyes nearly sealed for the night, we jumped out of bed at 11:30 when the alarm began blaring again. Keep in mind that this was not for the whole building, just our apartment as they were testing the system.

We walked up to the front desk, quite perturbed by this point, and tried to figure out what was going on especially since the fire department was no longer present. Turns out that the fire department forced them to turn off the boiler until they could get the sensor problem figured out. They decided to continue working on the sensor issue so that they could turn on the hot water by morning.

I didn’t sleep well during the night. I would later find out that the alarm continued to go off throughout the night just long enough to wake us up but not long enough for us to realize what was forcing us to open our eyes. However, I was wide awake when the cold water hit my head in the morning. So, after little quality sleep during the night it was a cold shower in the morning. Just the latest thing to add to the list and that much more incentive to find somewhere else to live by the time our lease is up… I’m already looking forward to spring!

Draining My Patience

I know, your already jealous with anticipation.

With a busy day planned (as has been previously mentioned), I was up and out of the apartment early so that I could get to the office in time to pull some plans together an prep for a couple of calls. Nothing like a full day ahead of you to ensure that your entire morning routine is completed in about 15 or 20 minutes… showered, dressed, packed, and coffee poured. As is a known rarity lately, I was actually running on time and was on track to get everything accomplished on my list by the time I went back to sleep that night.

Just like the day before, Wednesday, my phone betrayed my progress at the office. As I read the text from my wife I knew that it wasn’t going to be an early evening. In my rush to get out of the apartment in the morning I didn’t notice the fact that the shower drain was completely blocked and so when my wife got home, looking forward to a relaxing shower, she found herself in anything but a relaxing situation as the water level was still a quarter of the way up the side of the tub. This wasn’t the first time so toward the end of the work day we agreed to meet out for dinner and I would pick up a couple of bottles of Drano on my way home.

When we got home, ceiling still in shambles by the way, I headed to the bathroom, made a quick and unsuccessful attempt to snake the drain, and poured about half a bottle of the clog dissolvent in the tub. Per the instructions I waited about thirty minutes and checked the progress. With the water level unchanged it as time to escalate the attack so I pulled off the plate below the spout and attempted to run the snake down the trap. Once again, unsuccessful. Finally, I poured the other half of the bottle directly down the trap and walked out of the bathroom to calm my exhausted wife while we waited the thirty additional minutes. These apartment issues have really been a drain on my patience (embrace the pun).  

Thankfully this final attempt was indeed successful and we were able to resume with our usual, but slightly adjusted, evening routine. An hour until midnight and I was finally sitting down at the computer to get some work done. Not a great end to the day especially given the number of things on my to do list and the fact that I have to crawl out of bed and be awake enough to participate in a conference call at 7am. I guess it is a good thing that I am able to function on four hours of sleep for an entire day. I am sure that skill acquired during college and, more recently, working the overnight shift will continue to pay dividends.