Jury Duty and Sewage!

Last week was a Big Week around here. I had jury duty for the first time AND we had a disaster in the basement. I've been called for duty before, but I've never had to go because I had small children or was homeschooling. Most recently, I was called during the school year, and I probably could have gotten out of it again, but my husband said I could defer it online to a better date,  so I chose Tuesday, the first weekday of Summer Vacation.

Normally, I'm on standby and call the night before to find out if I need to appear. This time, I had to go and was in Group 1. Many of the jurors I conferred with agreed that if you use the website and defer your service to a convenient date, you have really just let the Court know that you ARE available and they WILL call your name for the voir dire process!

I was paneled for the jury and had a very interesting 4 days learning lots and lots about what to look for when buying property, water runoff, creeks, and, best of all, sewage backups. The whole process was fascinating and educational, tedious and exhausting, and I wouldn't mind doing it again (after a nice, long rest) (and because I don't have a paying job, so, unlike many of my fellow jurors, I wasn't losing vast amounts of money by serving!).

You know what the unexpected blessing from this jury service was? Because of "recent events," as I told my husband (since I couldn't tell him about the trial), I was inspired to look further for the cause of the basement toilet overflowing, and I discovered the sump pump had stopped working and the utility room was flooded with an inch of dirty water that was starting to seep out into the next room.

Fortunately, I looked, because, unfortunately, we had moved many, many boxes of books and other items down to the basement in preparation for new floors upstairs. All of those had to be moved to safety, and some had to be unpacked because that carpet and padding is the Quicker Picker Upper! I got to leave for court while leaving my dear husband to contend with the plumber (Norm!). At the end of the day, we had a new sump pump (which my civic service does not cover the cost of!), and we tore out all the carpeting the water had touched---one large room, the hallway, and part of a bedroom. The basement is a complete disaster with boxes and stuff piled everywhere.

I'm pretty sure I won't get to do the sewing projects I had planned this summer. Lack of time is one thing; lack of access to my sewing room is another. No sewing, no ironing. No grown children visiting and sleeping in the basement. :-(  I think this is the Summer of Home Renovations and Decluttering.

Sometimes, I want to cry when I think about it, but it's really fine. It's all good. Nothing was damaged that is vital or irreparable. It's all just stuff which we have too much of. It's the amount of work that overwhelms me, if I think about it, but I just won't do that. I'll just do the next thing that needs to be done----choosing paint colors for the living room?----praying?----because it's really all about doing whatever God asks in the moment. Sometimes, that's mopping up nasty water and letting go of the desire to do your own will.