It Was NOT a "Monday Funday"!!

We woke up late... Hey! It's our prerogative... We're on summer vacation! T had a doctor's appointment at 10 and it was 9:00... I had to shower, get her showered and ready and we had to stop at the bank on the way. At 9:02 I was in the shower, off to a good start. My phone went off. The screen said "The in-laws". "I can call them back when I am done. The shower really isn't good for my phone and probably it is not something super important," I thought. No more than thirty seconds later our fire/ambulance pager went off. The age old "when it rains it pours" went through my head. Not planning to answer the call (there are occasional times that I DO NOT respond... one of the perks of being a "volunteer") I still kept my ear tuned to what the 911 dispatcher was saying (ever the curious one, here). "...respond to a structure fire on Guthrie Rd..." Um... news flash.... that is MY road. We have seven structures on our road. Four are family's homes, one is our longtime, non-family neighbor, one is my father-in-law's business and on is a barn. So.... odds weren't the greatest. I FLEW out of the shower, soap and conditioner and all and threw clothes on. As I was grabbing my fire gear my phone rang again and I saw the screen said "dad-in-law." I flipped it open, barked out, "I'm on my way!" and slapped it shut, running to the truck. Let me tell you, I had that truck SAILING! Dad laughed about it later and said that if I had been going 5mph faster I would have stopped IN the garage. Hey, I got there! Turns out Uncle S was welding in dad's shop and a spark flew into a gas can and, well, that was that..... Dad and Uncle S were hauling stuff out when I got there and throwing buckets of water at the fire. Thankfully our crew got there when they did or we would not have a garage standing. Now, for the record, I was side by side with Dad and Uncle S until our assistant chief got there... I donned my gear when they arrived and went into professional mode rather than frantic daughter-in-law. Several of my.... "co-workers" (??) asked me if I was ok... my response was usually "I will be FINE as long as we get this totally out and taken care of!!" I took a minute when I was not needed and sent T with my observing sister-in-law and called the doctor's office to explain who was taking her down and why. Thankfully I did not have to reschedule a physical. Mom's brand new motorcycle was saved... It was the first thing Uncle S pulled out after calling 911. Unfortunately, my motorcycle is now in desperate need of a new motor. *sigh* Dad kidded that now his ceiling fan will not be very effective.... Perhaps the insurance company will replace that as well as the back wall and roof.... J is actually hoping that the insurance company will give them enough money to just put up a new pole barn across from this garage. They (J and his dad) have discussed building a bigger one and bringing some of J's work much closer to home.... I myself wonder if they will replace my bike's motor. THAT would be nice. :)

Needless to say, my Monday was not very "fun." BUT, we were able to share with a couple of the other fire-fighters how mom and dad were not even supposed to be home and mom for a couple days told their team (they were away ministering at another church) that they HAD to leave Sunday night. She NEEDED to be home Monday morning. If dad had not been there, the garage would have been totally engulfed by the time our fire company arrived.... Another reminder to listen to the still small voice and the inner urgings....