We Are The Dunphys

I was mad. MAD. As. Hell. I was ready to write a scathing post to vent all my frustrations.



Over what? Something small and taken for granted: the sump pump switch.



And Harrington’s initial reaction of shock.



See, about six months ago, our neighbors had a lake in their fully finished basement due to a broken sump pump switch. That day, Harrington vowed to put in a backup sump pump. Meanwhile, I stood my ground that anything worth having that had to go on the basement storage room floor was worth the money of a plastic container. Harrington was grumpy about the money and space those plastic containers took up, but I have a fear of a broken sump pump, a fear that resides so deep within my psyche due to an unfortunate accident that occurred circa 1986 on one ill-fated Mother’s Day. I don’t remember specifics, just feelings. And those strong feelings drove me to store our precious possessions in plastic, not old diaper boxes.



But I digress.



Fast forward six months, and It happened: our sump pump switch broke. We caught it in time so only our storage room and half of the living space carpet was wet. There was no drywall damage. Thankfully, the junk carpet in the storage area saved us by soaking up most of that disaster.



I knew Harrington had some feelings of remorse when he said, and I quote, “The best thing you could have done was put all of our things in plastic boxes.”



Great. Nice. But I was still mad. I just don’t think a marriage should withstand a seven day trip to Disney World *and* a broken sump pump switch in a two week period.



So as I said, I was ready to write this uplifting post until I read this by Angie for A Whole Lot Of Nothing. Read it, because if you are in a bad mood and only seeing the glass half empty, this post will shift your perspective in a positive way.



After I read it, I was thankful since it could have been much worse. I also began to see the humor in the situation.



Remember that episode of Modern Family when Claire told Phil he needed to mount the bookshelf to the wall in case of an earthquake? And Phil didn’t do it? And it almost landed on Luke?



I laughed and laughed at that episode. This is one of my favorite scenes.



I found it so very funny because I am Claire and Harrington is Phil. Somehow part of the humor was lost as I was wading around the basement storage room in my rain boots (an item that I bought as Harrington said he didn’t need rain boots since he avoids puddles, but then retracted that statement and said how useful they were in that moment).



But as I remembered that clip, I also realized that my situation can’t be that unique if they wrote a sitcom episode about it.



So I am thankful that Phil, I mean Harrington, worked hard to fix the basement. Within 24 hours, he and my Dad had removed the storage room carpet, all the water soaked up from the carpet with anti-mold powder sprinkled like fairy dust throughout the basement (courtesy of our favorite carpet cleaners at Shoreline), and had multi dehumidifiers and fans running around the clock.



Our basement could have been a lot worse.



I also think there are worse couples to be like than the Dunphys. I personally think they are cute and adorable together. But then again, I might be a little biased.



Have you ever had a home repair nightmare that you would like to share? Were you the Claire or the Phil?

Welcome Aboard the SS Summer Fun Cruise Ship!

Years and years ago, I went on my first and only (as of yet) cruise. It was the glorious Jubilee from Carnival (and by glorious, I mean it *was* glorious . . . circa 1987).

It was also pretty much free since Harrington won it. And “pretty much free” does not include drinks. Just a little FYI.

Anyway –

The great thing about a cruise is that everything is planned for you, and you don’t have to worry about driving. Especially after you’ve been drinking margaritas since 9:30 a.m. on a beach in Cozumel and snacking on taquitos all while singing yelling Rolling Stones “Honkey Tonk Woman” that was blaring from that little boat docked near the beach. All while on video.

Other highlights of the cruise included but were not limited to the following:

• Free range of the soft serve ice cream station (ahh, just like the good ol’ college cafeteria days)

• Yummy rum drinks and buckets of beer

• Towels fashioned into little animals

The cruise director was always telling us what to do at the ports (like drink margaritas and eat copious amounts of fried Mexican food). During these daily briefs, he would also tell us what fun stuff there was to do at night on the ship like a dance party, a magic show, dinner. The list was endless.

Some days were designated “Fun Days at Sea.” On these days, there was nothing organized, but lots of options like the pool, gambling, and ordering buckets of beer. It was up to you to entertain yourself on this floating party bus.

During week two of summer vacation, I realized that my life is strangely similar to life on a cruise ship.

Except I am the cruise director and The Babes are the passengers.

I have arranged Fun Fridays in which we go the park, out for lunch, the pool, and swim lessons.

On Mondays, there is story time.

Marie will be partaking in cooking and karate camps.

There are play dates galore.

A trip to the zoo is in the making.

Family time spent at my aunt and uncle’s cottage by the lake.

Pretty soon I will be making announcements such as, “Now serving goldfish crackers and juice on the Lido Deck” and “Be sure to join us for dinner at 5:30 in which your server (also the cruise director) will be serving spaghetti and meatballs. Pants optional.”

Why do I feel compelled to do this to myself? Because I live in Michigan. Nine months out of the year are either too hot or too cold to do anything but stay inside. I feel like I need to capitalize on EVERY. SINGLE. SEMI-GORGEOUS DAY.

Plus, it’s nice to be the fun parent. You know, the one who gets to do fun things that don’t involve dropping off and picking up from school, cleaning, making meals (which should give you a clear indication that my house is looking as super gross and that I now accept sandwiches as an acceptable dinner). As Clare said in Modern Family, “I'm making my kids love me!”  Who cares for now! I can now be associated with Fun Things like Playing and The Park and The Pool!

Finally, right?!

But seriously, I think that I need to plan some more Fun Days At Sea because this pace? As fun as it is, takes more energy than a single ice coffee can give me in an afternoon. 

It should also be noted that Clare also said, "...you can't have two fun parents... You know that kid Liam who wears pajama pants to school and pays for things with a hundred-dollar bill? Two fun parents."


So tell me, how’s your summer starting out?