Bad Days, Sleepless Nights, and Free Chocolate

Today's forecast for St. Peters, MO: Partly cloudy, high 85 degrees.

There's nothing like chocolate to help elevate my mood. And, boy, after the day (and night) I had yesterday, I sure could use some chocolate today!

Yesterday morning started off wonderfully. My grandson Michael's class play and poetry recitation were outstanding! The fourth graders did a fantastic job. As I prepared to leave school, Michael complained he had an upset stomach, which is a ploy he has used several times before when I visited school so he can leave with me. Our van must have miraculous powers, because on several occasions after I would let him leave with me, he would be miraculously healed, even asking for Chicken McNuggets on the way home.

Yesterday, I wasn't falling for it. I told him he probably would feel better after lunch and recess, which generally is true. Plus I had lunch plans of my own with my sister and some friends--something I hadn't done in quite some time.

My lunchtime fun stopped after my cell phone rang. It was my husband Walt.

Unless it's something urgent, I don't like to talk on the cell phone, especially on those rare occasions I'm able to go out with friends. Walt knows how I feel, so when I noticed a missed call followed immediately by a voicemail message while I was at lunch, I knew it had to be important.

I excused myself from the table and listened to Walt's message. "Call me when you get this."

I called back right away. "What's wrong?" I asked, hoping Michael wasn't really sick.

He cleared his throat and said, "The washer caught on fire."

Okay. This was not what I expected to hear. True, the washer had been making funny noises for a couple of days and Walt took the back panel off the night before to check it out, declaring the engine was about shot. We planned to get a new washer over the weekend, hoping there would be a sale. It was a holiday weekend, right? Everybody has some sort of sales on holiday weekends.

By the end of the conversation I found out that fortunately Walt was at home when the washer motor caught on fire. No damage, but a lot of inconvenience and mess.

Well, at least I had a conversation piece for the remainder of lunch, plus it would be a good story to tell the kids on the drive home from school later in the day.

Granddaughter Cari and the rest of the carpool were fascinated when I told them about the washer catching on fire. Michael was mostly quiet. As soon as we got home, he went straight to bed, not bothering to change his school uniform, and complaining he felt like he had to throw up. He didn't even want his usual after-school snack. And when some neighborhood friends rang the bell to see if he wanted to play, he wouldn't budge.

A little bit later, the "fun" began. I won't describe all the details; I'll just say it was a not-so-sweet mess, which required scrubbing the carpet, changing all the bedding, and washing down the walls. And that wasn't nearly as bad as the guilt from thinking Michael was faking being sick to leave school early.

Then the even worse reality sunk in. With the washer broken, I could not wash the clothes, towels, and piles of bedding. So, I rinsed them all out and soaked everything in the hallway bathroom tub.

Sleep didn't come easy last night for Michael, or me. After even more episodes and more dirty towels and linens, I resorted to piling everything in our master bathroom tub.

Thank goodness the washer will be delivered today--between noon and 4 p.m.--they promise.

Okay, this is long and whiney post, so how about some good news for a change?

How about free chocolate? Yep. You heard me. Don't you think we all deserve it?

Here's the deal: Every Friday through September, Mars (the candy people, not the solar planet) will give away free chocolate to 250,000 people. To participate, you need to sign up at their special Real Chocolate Relief Act website, where "sweet relief is on the way."

I could use some "sweet relief" right about now. How about you?