Due to the impending birth of our son, Julie thought our lives might be a little less hectic if we used paper plates and cups so we wouldn't have to mess with dirty dishes. Because of this, we accumulated dirty dishes very slowly so that the dishwasher did not run until a few days after replacing the disposal. I came home that night and found towels on the floor all around the dishwasher. I asked Julie about the towels and she said the dishwasher had leaked. I opened it up and the bottom was filled with water. I pulled the dishwasher out from the counter and found the hose leading from the dishwasher. I disconnected it and water immediately began flowing from the machine. I knew the problem was not in the dishwasher itself.
I followed the hose and discovered that it leads into the garbage disposal. Julie called Roto Rooter and had the guy that installed the disposal come check it out. He realized there was a seal that he forgot to remove which prevented the water from flowing into the disposal and out of the house. After getting the dishwasher back into the counter, it worked perfectly.
A few days later, the next problem popped up. This past Monday, I was in the shower and noticed some orange foam in the floor of the shower. I figured it was from one of Julie's products though I thought it was odd that it was at the end of the shower opposite the shower head. When I bent down to inspect the foam, I notice a tile tat was not flush with the wall. I was surprised that I had not noticed that in six months of living in the house. I rinsed the foam down the drain and went on about my day.
The next day (April Fool's Day), I was in the shower and noticed even more of the same foam. This was not a good development becuase Julie was still in bed and had not been in the shower yet, so I knew it was not left behind by her. When I inspected the foam, I could tell it was "flowing" from behind the tile which I had noticed was crooked the day before. There was an even greater amount of foam and some of it had dried on the floor of the shower and would not rinse away. I figured the foam was either the glue or the grout. Somehow, the the tile must have come loose and my best guess is that the water from the shower was causing it to expand and run. I smashed the tile back against the wall and rinsed away the foam. I went to work figuring I was going to have to learn how to do a tile repair job and wondering what problem was going to crop up next in my newly acquired, fifteen year old house.
I had hardly been at work about an hour when my phone rang. I saw that it was Julie and I knew immediately why she was calling. I said hello and she asked me what I thought of an April Fool's birthday. I asked if she was serious and she said her water might have broken and that her doctor told her to get to the hospital. When we arrived at triage, Julie was already dilated four centimeters!
They quickly got us back to a labor and delivery room. 10 hours later at 7:21 P.M., my son Caleb came into this world weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce. He was 19 inches long.
I began the day grumbling and grousing about the sudden rash of issues with the house. I ended the day overcome with emotion and joy. I was emotional about Julie and the wonderful job she did delivering our son and I was so overwhelmed with love and appreciation for the new little creature that is going to be living with me. I still have to fix that tile, but thanks to the curveballs of life, I'm not quite so worried about it anymore.
I have previously mentioned a special project that I was working on. The time has come to reveal that project. I have created a special blog that I am calling Year of Wonder which will chronicle my son's first year. You can find the blog at: http://www.myyearofwonder.blogspot.com/. Please check it out. I will post pictures of Caleb here from time to time, but Year of Wonder will be the most consistent place to catch pictures of him.
I want to thank everyone who has supported Julie and I throught this process and have been so generous with their time, money and counsel. We love you all. In the meantime, check out some pictures of Caleb after you have had the chance to go over to Year of Wonder:
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