Fleeting Worries & Dirty Diapers
Once upon a time, when Old Man was Young Man and Young Man, Jr. was just a wee bit of a baby, our household was visited by an angel. And this is how it happened:
Have you ever heard the expression that when you pay your bills, you have to 'rob Peter to pay Paul'? Well, in our household, we couldn't even rob poor Peter because he was slap out of money, too. On grocery shopping day, I would take stock of supplies. If I thought I had enough to get by for one more week, I wouldn't buy it. Of course, that left me running out of things - a lot! If I ran out of dish detergent, I used a scoop of laundry powder to wash dishes. If I ran out of laundry powder, I poured just a little shampoo in the washing machine (I would only wash what the family could not do without).
To try to make ends meet, I signed up with a company for whom I would fill out surveys. In return, they sent me cents off coupons for the products I liked to buy. They were also supposed to supply free samples of products so I could test them. It was supposed to be a blind test in that I would get two brands of one product, not know which was which, and after I used them I gave them my opinion. Did I like brand X, Y, or Z? I never got to 'taste test' anything, but, I continued to fill out surveys anyway because it helped to fill the time in between the baby's naps and the cents off coupons helped stretch the grocery budget. I also felt good about helping to improve the world's consumable products.
Another way I cut corners was to use cloth diapers. I know, I know, but the odor wasn't that bad if you handled the diapers right. Anyway, disposable diapers had just come out and I couldn't afford them. Remember, dear Reader, Peter was broke.
One day, I got myself in a particular pickle. I was 2 days away from payday and I ran out of any kind of soap I had in the house. I had even used up the floor cleaner! And the diaper pail was full! Wee Bit had 3 diapers left when I went to wash his pail of dirty ones. Only, I didn't have any laundry detergent. I went to the kitchen to get the dish soap - none. I thought I might wash with a little shampoo until I remembered I used the last of it with my morning shower. Aha! Body soap. It was in cake form, but I could whittle a few pieces, except that I remembered I washed with shampoo as I washed my hair in the shower because I had no bar soap left. I was in a pickle, y'all!
I thought about borrowing money from my parents, but they lived too far away. I knew the lady who ran the corner store and I thought about asking her to advance me some laundry detergent or a box of the throw-away diapers. But then I would have to pay her back with next week's check. Not a good idea.
This whole thing was my fault. Young Man was off in some school or another that his company sent him to. He was being fed and watered.
As night fell, Wee Bit had used all but one diaper. I held that diaper in my hands and I talked to the Lord. I told the Lord I was in desperate straits. Wee Bit would wake up in the morning soaking wet and would need clean clothes. I also reminded the Lord that Young Man's paycheck was not very big and His poor Peter was stone broke. Then I politely asked for some help. He told me not to worry about it, He would take care of everything. I believed Him.
So, I let Wee Bit play in the bathtub for a while, sans soap. He didn't care, he was happy in the water. I dried him off, put the last clean diaper on him, along with a pair of plastic pants that would do no good. Wee Bit would have his diapers, plastic pants, pajamas, sheets and blankets soaked by morning. I am almost embarrassed to admit it, but Wee Bit loved to sleep. All I had to do was lay him in his crib and he was out for the night. I watched a little television and then I went to bed. I had one of the most restful nights I can ever remember that night. I was sound asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and my dreams were all breezy and pleasant.
When I awoke the next morning, I lay in bed listening to Wee Bit play in his crib. That was one of my favorite times of the day. I would lay there for 5 or 10 minutes listening to Wee Bit play and talk to himself. But this morning it wasn't but a couple of minutes before I remembered my dilemma.
You know, you can't get all up in God's face and tell Him what to do, but here it was the next morning and Wee Bit would start getting agitated for breakfast soon and there was no help anywhere in sight. I got out of bed and went to the kitchen. I knew the miracle must be in the kitchen. That's where I go every morning. But there wasn't any miracle.
I fixed coffee in the coffee pot, sure that a miracle would happen before the coffee was brewed. Wee Bit started fussing a little by now. I knew I would have to get him up and his clothes would be soaked. And here I was with no way to wash anything. While I was fixing the coffee, I was considering how I could create a diaper pail big enough to accommodate his sheets, blankets and pajamas. I wasn't thinking about how to wash anything. I was finished worrying. There was no solution in sight. The Lord told me not to worry, but He was surely taking His own sweet time!
I finally had a cup of coffee in hand and was leaning up against the kitchen counter. By now, I was getting a little worried. Wee Bit had begun to cry. I would have to strip him down and let him toddle the house naked. That wouldn't do. I held my coffee cup in my hand, halfway to my lips and I began to talk to the Lord again. I told him Wee Bit had to get out of bed, I needed a way to clean him up. I said, "Lord, you're on. It's your turn."
Before I got the cup to my lips, someone knocked on my front door. I was aggravated. Who could be knocking this early in the morning? I was trying to solve a difficult problem, I didn't need the neighbors dropping by to chit-chat.
I opened the door to a mail delivery person. He had 2 packages in hand. Oh, good, I thought. Mom must have sent more baby clothes. At least Wee Bit will have clean clothes if not clean diapers.
"Ah, it's from the city, isn't it? My mom is so nice to send things!" I gushed.
"No," replied the deliveryman, "It's actually from Nevada. Let's see, it looks like that survey company that my wife fills out surveys for. What are they sending you?"
"I don't know." And I ripped into the packages while the deliveryman was still on my front porch. Under all the packaging were 2 boxes of laundry detergent - Brand A and Brand B. The letter asked me to use both and fill out the enclosed survey for them. "Praise be to God" was all I could say. I gave the man a quick account of my dilemma, and he repeated with awe on his face, "Praise be to God."
And, by the way, dear Reader. Brand B did not clean as well as Brand A. I just know that my answers on that survey are why we have access to superior laundry detergent today!
© 2011 Carol Phares
Have you ever heard the expression that when you pay your bills, you have to 'rob Peter to pay Paul'? Well, in our household, we couldn't even rob poor Peter because he was slap out of money, too. On grocery shopping day, I would take stock of supplies. If I thought I had enough to get by for one more week, I wouldn't buy it. Of course, that left me running out of things - a lot! If I ran out of dish detergent, I used a scoop of laundry powder to wash dishes. If I ran out of laundry powder, I poured just a little shampoo in the washing machine (I would only wash what the family could not do without).
To try to make ends meet, I signed up with a company for whom I would fill out surveys. In return, they sent me cents off coupons for the products I liked to buy. They were also supposed to supply free samples of products so I could test them. It was supposed to be a blind test in that I would get two brands of one product, not know which was which, and after I used them I gave them my opinion. Did I like brand X, Y, or Z? I never got to 'taste test' anything, but, I continued to fill out surveys anyway because it helped to fill the time in between the baby's naps and the cents off coupons helped stretch the grocery budget. I also felt good about helping to improve the world's consumable products.
Another way I cut corners was to use cloth diapers. I know, I know, but the odor wasn't that bad if you handled the diapers right. Anyway, disposable diapers had just come out and I couldn't afford them. Remember, dear Reader, Peter was broke.
One day, I got myself in a particular pickle. I was 2 days away from payday and I ran out of any kind of soap I had in the house. I had even used up the floor cleaner! And the diaper pail was full! Wee Bit had 3 diapers left when I went to wash his pail of dirty ones. Only, I didn't have any laundry detergent. I went to the kitchen to get the dish soap - none. I thought I might wash with a little shampoo until I remembered I used the last of it with my morning shower. Aha! Body soap. It was in cake form, but I could whittle a few pieces, except that I remembered I washed with shampoo as I washed my hair in the shower because I had no bar soap left. I was in a pickle, y'all!
I thought about borrowing money from my parents, but they lived too far away. I knew the lady who ran the corner store and I thought about asking her to advance me some laundry detergent or a box of the throw-away diapers. But then I would have to pay her back with next week's check. Not a good idea.
This whole thing was my fault. Young Man was off in some school or another that his company sent him to. He was being fed and watered.
As night fell, Wee Bit had used all but one diaper. I held that diaper in my hands and I talked to the Lord. I told the Lord I was in desperate straits. Wee Bit would wake up in the morning soaking wet and would need clean clothes. I also reminded the Lord that Young Man's paycheck was not very big and His poor Peter was stone broke. Then I politely asked for some help. He told me not to worry about it, He would take care of everything. I believed Him.
So, I let Wee Bit play in the bathtub for a while, sans soap. He didn't care, he was happy in the water. I dried him off, put the last clean diaper on him, along with a pair of plastic pants that would do no good. Wee Bit would have his diapers, plastic pants, pajamas, sheets and blankets soaked by morning. I am almost embarrassed to admit it, but Wee Bit loved to sleep. All I had to do was lay him in his crib and he was out for the night. I watched a little television and then I went to bed. I had one of the most restful nights I can ever remember that night. I was sound asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and my dreams were all breezy and pleasant.
When I awoke the next morning, I lay in bed listening to Wee Bit play in his crib. That was one of my favorite times of the day. I would lay there for 5 or 10 minutes listening to Wee Bit play and talk to himself. But this morning it wasn't but a couple of minutes before I remembered my dilemma.
You know, you can't get all up in God's face and tell Him what to do, but here it was the next morning and Wee Bit would start getting agitated for breakfast soon and there was no help anywhere in sight. I got out of bed and went to the kitchen. I knew the miracle must be in the kitchen. That's where I go every morning. But there wasn't any miracle.
I fixed coffee in the coffee pot, sure that a miracle would happen before the coffee was brewed. Wee Bit started fussing a little by now. I knew I would have to get him up and his clothes would be soaked. And here I was with no way to wash anything. While I was fixing the coffee, I was considering how I could create a diaper pail big enough to accommodate his sheets, blankets and pajamas. I wasn't thinking about how to wash anything. I was finished worrying. There was no solution in sight. The Lord told me not to worry, but He was surely taking His own sweet time!
I finally had a cup of coffee in hand and was leaning up against the kitchen counter. By now, I was getting a little worried. Wee Bit had begun to cry. I would have to strip him down and let him toddle the house naked. That wouldn't do. I held my coffee cup in my hand, halfway to my lips and I began to talk to the Lord again. I told him Wee Bit had to get out of bed, I needed a way to clean him up. I said, "Lord, you're on. It's your turn."
Before I got the cup to my lips, someone knocked on my front door. I was aggravated. Who could be knocking this early in the morning? I was trying to solve a difficult problem, I didn't need the neighbors dropping by to chit-chat.
I opened the door to a mail delivery person. He had 2 packages in hand. Oh, good, I thought. Mom must have sent more baby clothes. At least Wee Bit will have clean clothes if not clean diapers.
"Ah, it's from the city, isn't it? My mom is so nice to send things!" I gushed.
"No," replied the deliveryman, "It's actually from Nevada. Let's see, it looks like that survey company that my wife fills out surveys for. What are they sending you?"
"I don't know." And I ripped into the packages while the deliveryman was still on my front porch. Under all the packaging were 2 boxes of laundry detergent - Brand A and Brand B. The letter asked me to use both and fill out the enclosed survey for them. "Praise be to God" was all I could say. I gave the man a quick account of my dilemma, and he repeated with awe on his face, "Praise be to God."
And, by the way, dear Reader. Brand B did not clean as well as Brand A. I just know that my answers on that survey are why we have access to superior laundry detergent today!
© 2011 Carol Phares
I love this story! I always have! You always told us that it was this instance that proved to you that angels existed. It's a comforting thought.
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