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The only image I have of the kitchen (2013) |
Readers
of yesterday’s blog (A Long Birthday) may remember how on 1st
October LD:NorthEast gave me a beautiful bouquet and poem to mark my
birthday.
I had the lovliest evening at
the fundraising event and drove home will a full and happy heart. As
I got out of car I heard the gurgling of water and was content that all my
boys were having their usual evening bath.
When
I got into the house I felt a bit of a breeze blowing through and
went into the kitchen to find the backdoor open, Thunderthighs in his pyjamas
brushing water out of the door, an inadequately small bathmat in the middle of
the floor and a heavy shower coming through the ceiling (fortunately wood
panels).
“What
happened?”
“Dad’s
bath overflowed.”
I
went upstairs and discovered that water had crept along the landing almost to
the top of the stairs and was seeping underneath the cork tiles in the
toilet.
A
bathsheet had been placed on top of the carpet.
When
he saw me Fester said “If you stramp on that it will soak the water up”
AND
PROCEEDED TO GET INTO THE BATH!!!
The
flooding was bad enough.
Realising he can’t be relied upon to mind the boys and house made it worse.
But the attitude of “now she’s back she can deal with it” put the tin
hat on it.
I
was enraged beyond speech, said nothing, went back downstairs and questioned Thunderthighs
further, as gently as I could because too much pressure and he’d have clammed up.
“I
had my bath, well shower actually, then I ran Ferretfingers’ bath and when he’d
finished I told him to tell Dad I was running his bath.”
Which
might just have worked in some households.
However
Ferretfingers' autism is mainly a communication disorder, giving him a verbal
message to pass on is as much use as carrying sand in a sieve.
I
don’t really blame Thunderthighs, even though he should have known better.
Had
his father been paying any attention then he might have noticed the toing and
froing, heard the taps running and maybe gone and investigated before the
overflow.
He
is supposed to be my partner in caring for them.
Later, when I could control myself enough to enquire in a civilised manner why he’d got into the bath immediately on
my return his reply was
“Well I’d just spent three quarters of an hour sorting
things out.”
Which
‘sorting out’ stopped as soon as the grown up entered the house.
The
answer wasn’t meant to placate me, which was good, because it didn’t.
Anyhoo
Back
in kitchen I suggested to Thunderthighs that he should take up and wring out
the bathmat and put down newspaper.
He
picked up a newspaper and proceeded to lay down single sheets in a fey manner
that put me in mind of the Rite of Spring.
“Noooo
Thund. Put whole newspapers down. We’ve plenty of them. Leave them down overnight so they’ll catch
all the drips. You can take them up
tomorrow morning and put them in the bin.”
I
went up to bed and to start packing for my weekend with the Coven.
In
the morning the floor was cleaner than it’s been in a long time.
The
lights were working although the track was making spitting noises.
“While
I’m away get the hairdryer onto that” I instructed Thunderthighs.
When I
reached down my travel mug from the top of the cupboard the lid
splashed cold water onto me.
“While
I’m away” I said to Fester “get everything down off the top of the cupboards
and dry them off.”
“Nothing
up there will have got wet” he demurred.
Rather
than ask him why he thought that, if there was water coming through the rest of
the ceiling the foot and a bit over the cupboards would remain miraculously dry,
I took down the other travel mug and flung the water that had gathered in its
lid at him.
Some
friends may believe he got off lightly not having a whole lot more flung at
him.
“Everything
needs to come off and get dried; and try to put everything back where it was" I instructed through gritted teeth "Get Thunderthighs to take everything down,
wipe the shelf and put stuff back where he found it. He’s
got the height. The last thing I need is
you falling off the stool and breaking a hip. “
Mrs
Eft arrived and off we went to Warwick where I had a lovely weekend with old friends.
More
tomorrow
See
also https://bentonbag.blogspot.com/2017/12/apres-mois-la-deluge.html
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