Our trip from San Jose to Salt Lake City was uneventful. Paul did put some water bottles in his carry-on and that got tagged for a search, but we were able to just throw the water away and go on our way- phew! My sister Kim met us at the airport and took us home. We entered through the garage and we noticed something oozing out of the freezer. There was a big storm the day after we left SLC and the power circuit to the garage got tripped, so the power had been out for the freezer for 6 days. I had a lot of meat in the freezer (and freezer meals). Before I even had a chance to go inside and relax I started cleaning out the freezer. I needed to pull the freezer out from to wall to get to the goo under it, so I grabbed the keys and went to move the van out. The van wouldn't start. It was dead.
Kim came back over to give us a jump start, but it wouldn't start the van. Apparently with these newer batteries you are supposed to start them every 72 hours or disconnect the battery if it won't be
used for a while- well, now we know.
I called my friend in the neighborhood to see if she could take me grocery shopping at her convenience because we didn't have any fresh fruit, vegetables or milk. While I waited for her to come I finished cleaning the freezer out and started some laundry.
When I got back from shopping, the dryer was still running. It took over 2 hours to dry the load. It is said that bad things come in 3's. So I guess that number 3 for us was the dryer. I took it apart and cleaned the vent. It got things working better again and I was able to get the laundry finished from our trip before going to bed that night! Yay!
Coming home to this chaos was really frustrating, but I was surprisingly calm and easygoing about it. Our vacation to California had been really relaxing. There really is something calming and invigorating about the ocean. Visiting with Daniel's parents was delightful. They had a very welcoming atmosphere in their home for us to stay in and I know that it helped our trip be a positive experience.
My inner Pollyanna came out while I was dealing with the problems we faced when we were home. I was glad that it was only the outdoor freezer that lost power. I was glad that the house didn't experience flooding with the huge storm that passed through. I was glad that no one got hurt while we were on vacation. No car accidents, no lost children, no drownings, no shark attacks, no family feuds. Just a lot of fun and relaxation while on vacation. I'm okay with that. It is so much easier to deal with problems when you are home.
Two days after we got home, Jane started in with a urinary tract infection so we had to go to the doctor. I was sitting in the waiting room thinking that I was so glad that we were home when this happened.
Somehow this relaxed attitude I adopted when we got home has stayed with me. I'm ready to try new adventures and do the work necessary, but I'm able to stay levelheaded when things don't go exactly as I had planned. I think that this attitude looks good on me and I hope to keep it!
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