Holy Week?

Holy week didn't start out so holy for me.  Last night, as I was preparing to sing with our civic chorus (a wonderful piece to set the tone for holy week - btw the performance was awesome!) and David was preparing a special passover dinner service for our youth group, our sink clogged up. This is a new thing for us. I don't think I've ever had a sink completely clogged before. Being the person that I am....it was worrying me. I couldn't leave it alone. I knew that I hadn't put anything bad down the drain and that there was no good reason (in my mind) that is should be clogged. David had already left for church and I had the kids with me. Here's the scene... I'm one hour away from leaving for youth (and the concert immediately following), the sink is full of dishes, the kids are outside on the trampoline (and in a mud puddle), I think, "Hey, I'll get a head start on this evenings cleanup and do a load of dishes now." I load the dishwasher (yell out the window at the kids to GET OUT OF THAT MUD) and start to clear away the counters. I'm thinking, "I'm really on top of this" when water starts to ooze up into the sink. I look at it and think "No big deal, I must have forgotten to run the disposal." So I run the disposal.....and the water backs up into the other side of our double sink. Hmmm....well, when the toilet clogs we use the plunger, so I went and got the plunger. After 15-20 minutes of trying to use the plunger I realize that either I didn't have the strength or this sink is reaalllly clogged. It is now 1/2 hour to departure from the house and I stil have three muddy children and a baby who has decided that now is the time to make a huge mess in his diaper. Tearing myself away from the sink (which is really bothering me now - because I couldn't fix it) I manage to get the kids into the house cleaned up (well, at least presentable) and get the baby's diaper and clothes changed. We walked out the door 2 minutes late.....but we got there. Only problem, I still hadn't changed into my choir clothes so I would have to leave youth a little early in order to stop by the house and change on my way to the concert. No problem, I'm still on top of this. So we get to youth and get everyone settled in....but my focus wasn't there. I was thinking about what I had to do next and also looking ahead to what I needed to try next on the sink. The youth had a great experience with the passover dinner, and I cut out early to get to my concert on time. The concert was amazingly beautiful, the atmosphere was reverent and the music was worshipful. Afterwards, I talked with a few of the people from our church, but left quickly to get home to David and the kids.......and the sink. By the time I got home, he had tried all of the things that I had tried before to no avail. Bummer, I was really hoping that I would come home to find it fixed. However, he had done some research on it and had a few suggestions to try. So we headed to the kitchen ......1st try -  Baking soda and vinegar followed by boiling water  -   X      2nd try -  more plunger - XX  3rd try  - more baking soda and vinegar (and a check of the clean out outside at 10 pm)  - XXX David says "Leave it for the night and we try it again in the morning." Nope, not me, I'm gonna fix this thing! SO repeat 1st and 2nd try for the next hour or so....finally give up in a discouraged and foul mood and go to bed. This morning the sink is empty and David thinks it might be fixed. Yeah!!! Maybe all that baking soda and vinegar actually paid off. Then, he leaves for work and I start to run a load of dishes ....epic fail (double sink full of water again) I decide , "I've had enough of this." I went to the garage and gathered whatever tools I thought I might need. Then I opened the doors under the sink and got to work. Two hours later.....I am sitting on the floor of the kitchen with the guts of the sink disassembled in pieces around me. I am attempting to keep Ethan and Aiden from getting into the yucky water and nasty stuff coming from the pipes, but everytime I steer one away the other gets under foot (Why is this the one morning that Dora cannot hold their attention for 1/2 hour?) As I look at the pieces, I realize that there is no clog in any part of the plumbing that I can access...it must be somewhere between the wall and the clean out. RRRGGH. After trying to snake it unsuccessfully, I call David. He comes home to look at it and tries a few more things, before deciding that we should probably call the homeowner (we rent). He calls and our wonderful landlord tells us that he will be there this evening. Okay.....well, I didn't get it fixed, but at least it will get fixed hopefully. But now I look around the house and realize that while I have been dismantling the sink, my children have been dismantling the house. Toys and clean laundry (which had been piled on the couch for my typical Monday morning chore) had been scattered all over the house, unrolled toilet paper and overturned trash cans in the bathroom, the list could go on..... SO I send Ethan out in the backyard, put Aiden down for a nap and get to work. I straighten the kitchen and clean it as much as I can (with dirty dishes sitting on the counter and sinks full of yucky water). I'm just getting started on the bathroom, when Ethan comes in. *Back story - Ethan is potty training (mostly unsuccessfully) and I had sent him out to play wearing underwear. I made him go potty before he went out, but evidently today was going to be one of the unsuccessful days. *  He is dirty and really, really nasty. I hurry him into the bathroom hoping not to spread any mess in the kitchen that I have just cleaned. I take his pants and underwear off and tell him to get in the tub (yes, it was really that bad!) Right then, Aiden gets up and I go across the hall to get him. I'm coming back into the bathroom in time to see Ethan standing by the potty. Evidently my lecture, "Poo Poo goes in the potty!" has had some effect because he is dunking his dirty underwear into the toilet, trying to get them clean. Just as I cross the floor to him, I see him reach up to flush...... "Noooooooo......."  I quickly rush over to the toilet and try to grab the underwear as I watch them go down the drain. I've had my hands in yucky water all day...but this is the worst.  ARGGGGH! However, the toilet doesn't clog and after 5-6 test flushes appears to be fine, but I'm unsure so I head to the trusty internet to find out what to do when your toddler flushes his underwear. The top three hits on google let me know that the underwear most likely went on through....I sure hope so...So far so good! I have to meet the kids at the church at 3 pm for choir. It is now 2:15. I have a 2 year old in the tub, a baby who needs a change of clothes and I am still in my junk clothes from working on the sink. Oh, and the laundry and toys are still all over the house. I quickly bathe and dress the 2 year old while finishing cleaning the bathroom. Then, I dress Aiden and get him ready to go. I throw on some clean clothes, toss all the toys into the appropriate bedrooms and shut the bedroom doors, and then quickly sort and fold the laundry. It's now 2:50 and time to leave for choir. I'm thinking "I'm am so on top of this!" I go to get my keys out of my bedroom and realize that the door is locked.....from the inside.....One of the kids had turned the knob before I shut the door while cleaning earlier. At this point, I'm ready to sit down on the floor and cry. I call David. For the second time today, he comes to my rescue. I know how to unlock the door with the icepick. I've done it a hundred times (well, not literally, but I do know how to do it!) I can't make it happen. I can't make it happen for 20 minutes. Once David arrives, it takes him about 2.7 seconds to unlock the door and retrieve my keys. I tell him that I'm sorry I ever wanted to be a parent today and that if he wants to trade me in for a newer model, that's fine. I'm ready to retire. We ride back to the church together and make it to choir a little late but still in time to help. The afternoon begins to get better. The weather is nice. The kids are getting along on the playground. David picks us up from choir and we head home in time to start dinner, before our landlord comes over. David announces that he is going to grill hamburgers (because most of our cooking dishes are still dirty). He also purchased and installed a child gate, door knob covers and cabinet latches.  He should get husband of the year award! Our wonderful landlord came over and fixed the sink (it was actually nothing that I could have done  - he even had to crawl around under the house to take care of the problem) so we're mostly back to normal tonight. We even got the library books that were due today back to the library 5 minutes before it closed.  Kids in bed and I sat down to check up on the facebook stuff that I had missed checking obsessively today. I noticed that quite a few of my friends had posted quotes or observations regarding holy week. It struck me that somewhere between church yesterday and this evening, I had completely lost my focus. I neglected to embrace the experiences that I could have had last night, because I was so focused on what "I" needed to do. In the end, every yucky situation that I encountered last night and today had to be fixed by someone else. From the sink to the toilet (which is still working just fine!) to the door, I could do nothing to effect change. No matter how hard I tried, no matter what methods I tried, no matter how many articles I googled for different ideas for fixing the problems, someone else had to come and save me. I couldn't do it myself. Wow, holy week focus is back in place. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!