When It Gets To Be Too Much ...

Today the laundry shelf in my house had had enough. Let me explain. A few years ago, I installed a shelf above my washer/dryer. Its purpose was to hold detergent, Clorox, and other laundry essentials. It was supported by several braces, so I thought all was well.

My most recent detergent purchase was one of those bottles that you turn on its side and obtain the cleaning fluid through a nozzle-type thingy. The bottle is rather large, so I made sure to place in on top of one of the braces. I bought a fabric softener of the same design, and put it on the next brace. All seemed lovely - all I had to do was push the button/nozzle, out came my requested laundry additive, and I was on my way to clean clothes.

And then came today. I put a load in the washer and then went to do something else. At some point, I went back to put the wash into the dryer. There I was greeted with a floor full of blue liquid. Apparently the braces decided to quit, thus dumping detergent and fabric softener (which turns into blue goo when mixed) to the floor.

Several towels, rolls of paper towels, and Clorox handi-wipes later, the laundry room was seemingly back to normal. I won't get into the other details of decisions to rearrange the laundry room, purchasing (and returning) various dryer vents, washing loads of detergent and softener soaked clothes and hoping it wasn't too much for the washing machine. The bottom line is that the shelf fell, the floor was a mess, and after a few hours, everything seemed normal again.

I couldn't help but think of the flood victims as I cleaned up my mess. Mine was so minor compared to someone's house that had been filled with water and left with mud. While mine was cleaned up in a few hours, Nashville's flooded citizens are still cleaning out and tearing out and throwing out. But the good news is, as a flooded friend of mine facebooked tonight - "I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Sometimes it gets to be too much. Sometimes it's a river or a drainage system or a stream that can't take the rush of unrelenting water. Sometimes it's a shelf that can't take the weight of heavy bottles. Sometimes it's people who can't take one more comment, or one more disaster, or one more anything. Whatever it is, it gets to be too much and something gives out.

But if we're lucky, at some point we see the light at the end of the tunnel. Everything crashes, but we rebuild and start again. And even when it seems darkest, somehow we manage to glimpse that slight flicker of light that encourages us to keep going.

I don't know if I'll put the shelf back up. My floor will probably feel slimy for awhile. But today I learned something about stress, mainly to watch for the signs before it gets to be too much.

__________________________________________________________________

Things that make today great: Factory lunch with Sam, Lynnette, and Lindley; cleaning up the laundry room; picking up the Ms at the airport