My “Get Out of Jail Free” Day

I’m home from work today. I’m not sick nor are any of my children. In fact, I’ve never felt healthier. There isn’t a weather disaster. In fact, it is an unseasonably warm, sunny fall day. I’m not so stressed and overwhelmed that I need a mental health day. In fact, I’m quite content; school’s going great, my skinny jeans fit, and in just about 24 hours, I’m to be leaving for a 40 hour trip to NYC to celebrate my 40th birthday.

So what’s the problem? This:

Last night, my basement completely and utterly flooded. Like wearing rubber boots and bailing buckets out of the basement ’till midnight flooded. Like the city crew said we were the highest priority flooded. Like the first guy that came freaked out and called a second guy. Like at the same time, the hot water tank blew and was continuously refilling and emptying itself into the already-clogged drain thus flooding my boiler room which is adjacent to the rec room which also got flooded which contains my son’s very expensive drum kit, keyboards, our treadmill, our vacuum, all of the kids video-gaming equipment, my daughter’s American Girl collection, along with brand-new carpets, walls, and a sofa as we had completely gutted and renovated our basement less than two years ago.

So why am I half smiling as I leisurely lie on my bed, drinking the Starbucks coffee that I purchased out of guilt because my entire family used their facilities to brush our teeth and stuff this morning? Am I delirious?

Because at 5:30 this morning, the first crew came and sort of fixed the drain. I still have no water and my house still smells like one giant wet towel and I do have to sit home all day waiting for hot water tank people to show up, along with the second city crew with the bigger machinery to fix the pipes. But the waters have receded and except for removing wet items and such, there’s no point in cleaning up because (a) my water’s still shut off so I can’t do much and (b) it might get worse so what’s the point, and (c) if this is an insurance claim kinda deal, I don’t think I’m supposed to mess with the mess. And I can’t call the insurance company until the pipes and all that jazz are fixed. I can’t work out because I can’t go jogging because I can’t leave my house and my treadmill is out of the question. And even if I could, I’d get all sweaty and I have no way of showering. I can’t catch up on marking or do any other lesson prep because I wasn’t planning on being home and thus, brought nothing home with me. My husband went to work because he had to. I sent my kids to school because there was no reason not to, and thanks to cross country and volleyball practice, neither will be home ’till 4:30.

So here I am. In an empty house with no work, no kids, and no way to exercise or clean up. I’ve got my dog, my book, Top Chef Masters on the PVR, and a lawn chair on a beautiful sunny day. Is this the silver lining in the midst of a giant rainstorm? Is this my one day “get out jail free card?”

What would you do if you were me?