The plumbing needed an eel

Did you know the only thing that should be flushed down a toilet (besides what comes out of your body) is toilet paper? Regardless of what the product says. Flushable wipes? Just say no!

I had another comfortable night at my parent's house. The new bed is wonderful. I brought my own pillow and fan (white noise). I woke and made coffee. My dad mail-orders Jelks Blueberry Cobbler coffee. The only creamer they have is vanilla rum. Who drinks coffee like that? I did because I had to. Our angel of an aide Amanda came at 8:30. I wish she lived in my house. We talked for a while, then I finally took a shower. I was determined to get dressed at a reasonable time today.

I noticed water all over the bathroom floor when I went to dry my hair. The water level in the toilet was high. I used the plunger. Nothing happened. I flushed and tried again, and again. My mom was in her bathroom. She shouted out, 'what are you doing?' The water was gurgling up in her toilet. The next thing I knew, the bathtub was filling up with dirty water. I went to my mom's bathroom and the stall-shower was filling up with dirty water. I tried plunging the drain. Both toilets were gurgling. Are you picturing it yet? We're grabbing towels and throwing them on the floor. We've donned gloves and we're bailing water out of the shower and tub and into the sink. I call my boss, Mason, to ask for advice. He says I need to call a plumber; that they need to use an eel to get to the clog. I've heard of a snake, but not an eel. I'm guessing it's much longer? I call a random plumber who says they can come out tomorrow. How could they say that? I agree to pay an extra $90 for same day emergency service. Of course, as soon as I hung up I needed to go to the bathroom. I used the bushes. Like you do when you're camping. (I'll have to see if the daffodils bloom differently in that spot in the spring.) We found a sitz bath in the linen closet. The non-adventurous one used that as a make-shift potty. Mom, somehow, didn't have to go. Our guy arrived, and used one after another snake. Different sizes.

He was about to give up. He thought he'd need another guy and they'd use the septic vent on the roof to get to the clog. Finally, he got through the clog using the shower drain. You don't want to know what it looked like. The cause of it all? I had to ask because I couldn't figure out what I was seeing. A mess of black shredded stuff. Flushable wipes. My mom depends on them. Or, I should say, used to. I used to use them too, but as of right now, never again. My mom asked how much the plumber charged. I said the price of a new iPad. $619. That's how my brain thinks.

And they're called snakes, not eels, though I like the name eels better.

I finally left the house at 5:00. I'd been there almost 48 hours and I wanted my own house. I had to go to Safeway for a little food shopping. I got the bright idea to use the Chipotle app on my phone and order dinner. I have my favorite meal saved and credit card stored. Done! It was ready when I got there, and I headed home. How ironic for how my day was going that they forgot to put the chicken in my chicken burrito bowl. I took it in stride. I knew it was bloggable, and ironic.

The meal was good, but definitely missing something. Something called chicken.

My father was transported to Washington Hospital Center late today. I talked to the nurse and found out he's having cardiac catheterization tomorrow. That was news to us. WHC is a renowned heart center...#19 in the nation. It's the same hospital my mom was at for her angiogram. We'll have to trust that they'll take great care of him. Unfortunately, none of us will be there.

I'm in my pajamas. Eating ice cream. As soon as my laundry is done, I'm getting in bed. It's time to put this day to rest.