Recent Adventures
Our daughter-in-law Sue, and Paul, are kindred spirits in that they are both undeterred by things that others might deem impossible, and set out to do them by sheer force of will.
Sue was helping us get our house ready for listing by painting the outside of the extension at the back. The day that she and Paul built the heavy rented scaffolding to the height needed to reach the peak at the edge of the roof of our house, and Sue had to stand on the scaffolding and reach up with her brush and roller was scary.
Even she admitted to nervousness and sat on the edge of the scaffolding, dangling her legs while looking down, like an Olympic diver psyching herself up on a diving board.
"Don't worry, I have four children," was the most encouraging thing she had to say.
Paul had tied down the scaffolding on either side, bought her a harness, and attached a rope to the harness. He then tied the rope around his waist. I could only think of how we can't even stand on a chair to change a light bulb at work under our health and safety policy. I could not even speak to them or watch. Paul didn't want me to either. This was one of the "short days" I mentioned in my previous post. I forced myself to check now and then in case they were both dangling in mid air on opposite side of the scaffolding.
Sue lived to paint another day, and I was so grateful.
It was one of those rare days during this frenzy of painting when Sue got home before dark. She'd been working so hard painting the outside of our house.
She was home for a bit when she noticed that she hadn't seen one of their cats for a while. "Where's Ditto?" she asked.
A search of the house ensued, culminating with the discovery that the screen on the kitchen screen door, had been pushed through and was flapping gently in the breeze.
This was the start of five hours of panic and pandemonium. Our youngest granddaughter, Claire, 8, began to sob uncontrollably and inconsolably and could be heard through the windows, wailing at the top of her lungs. The only way Sue could get her to stop was to tell her to pray for Ditto, which made her gulp back back her shuddering sobs and beseech God to help them find him.
Elizabeth, 16, deals with things gone wrong by yelling at everyone at random, which she began to do with intensity.
Three hours later, at 8.00 p.m. Pete arrived home from work and joined the search--while Elizabeth yelled at him too.
They searched the streets nearby and made posters to put up in the neighbourhood. Dark was falling fast, and Ditto, a black cat, was still nowhere to be found. Claire was still praying.
Outside Andrew was down in the ravine on their property, in bare feet, stumbling over stumps and buzzed by bugs. Elizabeth joined him, down in the dark bushes.
Pete was by the garden shed when he told everyone to be quiet and listen. Sure enough, there was a faint tinkle of the bell that Ditto wears for good reason.
Scared by the commotion, and chased by Andrew, he ran from behind the shed to beneath the deck, while Elizabeth emerged from the ravine, scratching a rash that was appearing on her body and a raised area below one eye that must have been brushed by a leaf.
Ditto was retrieved from beneath the deck and brought inside to face the music.
This photo, taken by Pete, is the real reason I had to tell the story. It is so classic. :)
Thanks for sharing in Ditto's adventure. :)
Sue was helping us get our house ready for listing by painting the outside of the extension at the back. The day that she and Paul built the heavy rented scaffolding to the height needed to reach the peak at the edge of the roof of our house, and Sue had to stand on the scaffolding and reach up with her brush and roller was scary.
Even she admitted to nervousness and sat on the edge of the scaffolding, dangling her legs while looking down, like an Olympic diver psyching herself up on a diving board.
"Don't worry, I have four children," was the most encouraging thing she had to say.
Paul had tied down the scaffolding on either side, bought her a harness, and attached a rope to the harness. He then tied the rope around his waist. I could only think of how we can't even stand on a chair to change a light bulb at work under our health and safety policy. I could not even speak to them or watch. Paul didn't want me to either. This was one of the "short days" I mentioned in my previous post. I forced myself to check now and then in case they were both dangling in mid air on opposite side of the scaffolding.
Sue lived to paint another day, and I was so grateful.
It was one of those rare days during this frenzy of painting when Sue got home before dark. She'd been working so hard painting the outside of our house.
She was home for a bit when she noticed that she hadn't seen one of their cats for a while. "Where's Ditto?" she asked.
A search of the house ensued, culminating with the discovery that the screen on the kitchen screen door, had been pushed through and was flapping gently in the breeze.
This was the start of five hours of panic and pandemonium. Our youngest granddaughter, Claire, 8, began to sob uncontrollably and inconsolably and could be heard through the windows, wailing at the top of her lungs. The only way Sue could get her to stop was to tell her to pray for Ditto, which made her gulp back back her shuddering sobs and beseech God to help them find him.
Elizabeth, 16, deals with things gone wrong by yelling at everyone at random, which she began to do with intensity.
Three hours later, at 8.00 p.m. Pete arrived home from work and joined the search--while Elizabeth yelled at him too.
They searched the streets nearby and made posters to put up in the neighbourhood. Dark was falling fast, and Ditto, a black cat, was still nowhere to be found. Claire was still praying.
Outside Andrew was down in the ravine on their property, in bare feet, stumbling over stumps and buzzed by bugs. Elizabeth joined him, down in the dark bushes.
Pete was by the garden shed when he told everyone to be quiet and listen. Sure enough, there was a faint tinkle of the bell that Ditto wears for good reason.
Scared by the commotion, and chased by Andrew, he ran from behind the shed to beneath the deck, while Elizabeth emerged from the ravine, scratching a rash that was appearing on her body and a raised area below one eye that must have been brushed by a leaf.
Ditto was retrieved from beneath the deck and brought inside to face the music.
This photo, taken by Pete, is the real reason I had to tell the story. It is so classic. :)
Thanks for sharing in Ditto's adventure. :)
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