I'm Never Gonna Stop The Rain By Complaining

Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red
Crying's not for me! 

Sometimes, as a writer, you wait for inspiration to come knocking.  And then other times, inspiration comes splashing down all around you... if you're willing to laugh at what can be a frustrating and annoying situation, that is.

Earlier today I heard a strange hissing noise in the garage.  It seemed to be coming from the area around the water heater.  Upon close inspection I didn't see anything leaking, I didn't smell gas fumes, and it didn't seem to be getting any worse so I did what any sensible mom would do when her kids are at school and the house is empty.  I called to alert my husband and then I went to my friend's house to play Just Dance.  (You mean, that's not what responsible adult people do on a regular basis???)  It turned out that a pipe above the water heater had sprung a tiny leak and was spraying a small stream of water out like a cute little fairy shower.  My husband shut off the water to the damaged pipe, made the trek to Home Depot, and eventually began to fix stuff .

Of course, as always happens when things go wrong, it was at an inopportune time.  I made dinner and sat down with the boys, thinking that my husband would be done soon enough.  We eventually finished our food and moved on to singing "Yes, we have no bananas".  (Huh, that  seems even weirder when you write it down.)  We then heard sawing sounds coming from the garage.  That can't mean anything good, right?  Do you think we investigated?  Nope.

My husband came in and began a detailed explanation of the steps he'd taken to fix everything.  I think he was just coming to the part about sawing copper pipes when we all stopped what we were doing and looked around.  My son asked, "What is that noise?" at the same moment I said, "That sounds bad".  We opened the door into the garage to see Niagara Falls cascading all around.  Water was shooting up from the water heater, splashing angrily against the sheetrock ceiling, and then spraying over half of our two-car garage.  My husband yelled some kind of half-swear word, slammed the door shut, and then opened it again when he realized one of us would have to brave the monsoon in order to make the water stop.  As he ducked out into the downpour, my boys and I looked at each other and immediately burst out laughing.  Not a supportive thing to do, but knowing I couldn't go out and help while still snickering, I waited for the giggles to subside.

Here's the thing: this is not our first - or even second - foray into "Flooding Your Garage" territory.  This is at least our third time drenching our own belongings, and yet we still have not taken proper precautions to prevent damage should it happen again.  Maybe this time we will raise our stuff up off of the floor?  Um, I'll see if I get to that after some more dancing.

The first time we flooded our garage, it was due to a small rag blocking the bottom of the basin where laundry water is meant to drain.  We bought an industrial fan to dry out everything and then put our crap back where it was.  The second time, we inadvertently set bricks across our side walkway, creating an effective berm which directed water right under the door into the garage during a major rainstorm.  It sucks walking out into your garage and seeing an unexpected lake.  We again set up the fan and dried everything out.  And put it... yes, right back.  I guess some kind of raised shelf or pallet really would have come in handy after those experiences.

So my point is:  pick your junk up off the garage floor if you don't want it ruined!  And laugh at your own ridiculous circumstances!  What else are you gonna do?  (Pssst... just don't let your soaking wet husband hear you!)

Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining
Because I'm free
Nothing's worrying me

(You're singing it now, aren't you?)