Domestic Disasters

For those who still use them a dictionary's meaning of disaster is a crushing misfortune, a calamity or a terrible accident and whilst a domestic disaster might not be seen by all as a crushing misfortune for those involved it can definitely be viewed as a calamity.

Of course domestic problems have a scale of woe and vary depending on what you priorities are.  For some it is the loss of the dishwasher, for others a coffee maker makes the difference to everyday sanity, and for me the loss of my washing machine is by far the worst thing that can happen.  With all my men I have  to make sure that on a weekly basis I can wash 3 sets of football kits, 4 school uniforms, 25 shirts and a variety of t-shirts and jumpers before I even think about the bed linen and towels.  My washing machine is on every single day and only has a rest when I go on holiday!  

I had an occasion when the boys were smaller and my other half was away and the washing machine seemed to be making a funny noise.  I tried to ignore it as it was in the middle of a cycle but suddenly water started gushing out of the tube at the back at an alarming rate and I didn't know how to stop it!  In a panic I called my brother who lives a few streets away to help.  By the time he arrived about five minutes later the floor was flooded and I looked as though I had been in the shower fully dressed. My brother managed to secure the tube but I still needed to phone the repair man to sort out the noise.  Sounding completely neurotic I made him promise to get to me as quickly as he could and see if it was repairable. In the meantime I was on the internet researching new machines just in case.  The brands, models, price range and options were wide and quite daunting but I needed to know how quickly I could get a new machine if required, as the thought of an ever increasing mountain of clothes was terrifying.  Fortunately my new best friend sorted the problem with a small part and sanity and equilibrium were restored, now all I needed to do was sort out the floor......