A home away from home

So I careened through this day trying to cover my bases. Kari didn't get back into town until 1:30 am, so I offered to open the daycare to give her at least an extra hour or so of rest. So it was two hours of busy-busy with pups arriving. Then off to Nancy's to work the rest of the day. Then rushing home to try to do some critical FOP stuff and a few things at home before coming to Michele and Chuck's late tonight for a week-long housesit. Michele is screaming through the afternoon and evening too, with emergencies occurring that were interrupting her and that will pass to me to handle tomorrow in my spare time. Meanwhile they discover their plane is leaving 90 minutes earlier than they thought. None of us has a life that easily accommodates the loss of 90 minutes.

So as I finished up with an errand at the FOP office around 10 pm and made my way across town, I thought of this visit with anticipation. I always love being here, and I rather like that I have to succumb to the fact that I can't keep up the same production on FOP stuff (though I have to think hard about how I'm going to get things done later) because these 14 animals are my priority. I came in to a virtually silent house - no barking! - said hello to the kids and to Michele and Chuck, and sat quietly on the couch watching the chaos of their departure. Smiling to myself that at least for me, peace prevails.

Ha.

I went downstairs to visit with the kids I hadn't greeted yet...and there was one nose missing. I opened the door to the backyard thinking she had slipped out (she's one of two dogs I'm not able to touch here - she'll tolerate my presence now and will go in and out as I bid, but will keep her distance at any opportunity). But she wasn't peering at me from the blue doghouse as she usually does. I looked around the backyard. A little terror gripped me - surely Hannah wasn't gone - and by that I mean gone in a cosmic way. Surely Michele would have told me if that had happened.

So I had to make the call as they rushed across town to the airport. Where the heck is Hannah. Just a little extra panic in their departure. I've looked all the usual places. I tell Michele I will call her back.

I go into the garage, just in case she slipped in there when Kiyah and Sassy came out. No Hannah. But hey, what's this. Oh, it's a pipe out of the hot water heater...and it's leaking all over the floor.

I go upstairs and find Hannah hiding behind the couch. Not sure if she has ever ventured into the upstairs, certainly not with me around. I make another call. Hannah's okay, but did you know you have hot water leaking all over your garage.

Multiple phone calls later, a plumber is dispatched, but I am talking to a friend of Chuck's and between us we decide it's pressure overflow and probably not an emergency right now. The pan I placed under the leak seems to have scared the pipe into quietude for now. I cancel the dispatch.

I start hauling soaked carpets out of the garage, count noses again downstairs, hand out treats. Come upstairs, count noses again, hand out treats. Make another call - all is well for now and we'll deal with plumbing again tomorrow.

It's nineteen hours after my day began, and indeed, peace prevails.