The House of Horror

Do you remember that our middle son's family is living with us because their house got sick with mold and essentially died? Remember that they had to leave and abandon everything? 

Our house is under reconstruction, yep, mold. We had a water leak, the water seeped into a wall, the wall soaked up the water, mold stuck it's dirty hands in our house. 



Eventually we discovered the water and began the search for the source. But that was after the wall had sponged up all it could take. The gaping holes in my bathroom, closet and foyer match the concrete floor. Water seep under the floor in the corner between the toilet and tub. How does that happen? Anyway that spot was super-icky. 

In a flash the kids were gone, piled into their SUV like sardines and working to find a place for the night. Poor little Marley was in tears until all of her dolls were safely in the car. Ella, of Elf on the Shelf fame, had to stay since no one could touch her, but she found Marley later that night, so no doll succumbed to the mold. 

Anyway we called in the pros and they have been quite helpful. Thus far they've dried out the walls, torn out the sheetrock that was molded, and made several calls to the insurance and environmental guy who is to tell us how sick our house really is. Right now, there are huge dryers (humidifiers) that are keeping the house warm and toasty in this cold wet weather we're getting.

Richard and I have relocated to our camper and are pretty comfortable. Adam, Jen and Marley have borrowed Will's family camper and made themselves at home. It's bigger than the two bedrooms in our house where they've lived for a year now. There's a slide-out for the living area and two in the "bunk house" which Marley claimed for her dolls. So I think they are going to be okay as well.

Richard and I don't need as much space. That is, until workers begin installing sheet rock. That dust may put me out of the house entirely. Right now clothes are draped over chairs and benches. I was forced to take everything out of the closet, so today I went through every piece and made smart choices. 

Some sentimental things have even found their way into the donation box: graduation gowns, a suit our boys wore for weddings when they were small, pieces I really liked. 

I'm trying to figure out how to contain the dust and grime that are always present during construction. At least, how to keep some of it off clothing, books, and surfaces. 

I'm also trying to put a positive spin on this minor disaster. It's just a few rooms and I get to redesign our very small master bath and closet. Richard has been very helpful in that regard. 

He assures me it won't take very long since he can hire Adam's guys, and our boys will pitch in as well. "We help each other in this family," he reminds me. Ah yes, family. We have family to lean on, and that is enough.