The Gala

Thursday night my parents called to tell us they just found out we were invited to attend the Governor's Gala. Do you pronunce it gay-la or gah-la? They were going, but didn't realize that they could bring their family. A girl in my line of work doesn't get a lot of gala invites, so with 24 hours notice and nothing to wear we set out to make it happen. Brennan borrowed a dark suit from a friend and that just left me.


Friday the kids were out of school so I figured if I could feed the baby and get him settled he always takes a really great morning nap then I could leave the kids with Anna in charge and go shopping and actually try things on.


I fed the baby and just before laying him down Ben needed help going potty. I set Joshy in his bouncy seat just outside the bathroom so I could help Ben. When he finished I stood there watching while he flushed the toilet. For some dumb inexplicable reason it started to overflow. I stood there helplessly for a second then sent Benny out while I ran to the other bathroom for the plunger. I got back just in time to see water pooling all over the bathroom floor. I plunged and it finally stopped. Now I stood in disgusting sewer water thinking that this day was going very differently than I had imagined it. I will also (not proudly) admit that during those types of moments the thought "Where is my good-for-nothing husband! The nerve of him out working hard to provide for our family instead of being here to deal with this sewer water!" tends to go through my head. I called him just to tell him to feel grateful he was at work but then he said that he was at the dump installing dispensers in the bathrooms. Then he told me that there actually was something I could have done. Evidently there's a valve that shuts off the water. Good to know.


I started yelling for the kids to bring towels which were all in the laundry room. They didn't quite sense my urgency, but luckily Ben did and jumped right in to action. Anna, Abby and Nate finally brought me some towels, but Ben stuck by me in the hall making sure I had enough towels and rags. Upon hearing the big kids fighting he even said to me, "Don't worry, Mom, I'll take care of it." Then I heard him say in his best weary exasperated Mom voice, "Guys, what's the matter?" I smiled for a minute until I remembered I was wiping up toilet water. About 50 towels, a LOT of disinfectant, and a shower later I was finally ready to put Joshua to bed and go shopping.


I tend to misplace my keys a lot; however, I rarely really lose them so I didn't panic when I couldn't find them initially. As time went on and my precious window of opportunity ticked by and after searching the diaper bag 37 times, the car 42 times and my usual key drop spot about 73 times panic set in. I offered my kids $5 if they found them, but no such luck. I was defeated and ready to give in. Just then my Mom called and when she heard my dilemma rushed over so I could drive her back home and then take her car. My fairy godmother!

In the end it all worked out. My bathroom floor is cleaner than it has been for quite some time, I managed to find something to wear for very little $$, I even remembered I had a darling dressy outfit for Joshua that someone gave me when Nate was born. It was fun to dress up and see everyone else all dressed up, Joshua was an angel baby, dinner was fancy and I tried scallops for the first time (fyi: didn't like them, I wanted to, but found them to be like fish-flavored marshmellows), we had excellent company at our table, and there was a fabulous program of singing and dancing to some of my favorite broadway numbers. Such a fun night.

One of my handsome dates, wish I would have gotten a picture of Brennan and me, oh well. Isn't he so cute?