Christmas Came with a Catch

Christmas came with a catch this year. We had planned for months to be at the cabin for a white Christmas. Growing excited about getting there we even left a day early with the car packed to the core. We were going to spend six days up there and love the relaxation of it!

After driving three hours, we arrived late in the afternoon to find the house full of water. Pipe break and a cabin unlivable. It was one of those moments as a mother that you have crisis that demands action and in many directions. It was already late and very cold out. About 20 degrees. So everyone is cold and the roads are icy and will just get more unsafe in the dark. In about 20 minutes we had to: get the water turned off, regroup the kids and dog back in the car, calm disappointed children, explain why there was water in the house, call Mom and Dad and then figure out what we could perge to stay at Almanor while we brought Christmas gifts that were already up there back down the hill in an already stuffed car. All this while being disappointed ourselves. We spent the morning at home putting away our Christmas decorations. Our home was ready for 2010 not Christmas. How do you make up days of games, snowballs and sledding back home? UGH!

I guess it will always be a Christmas we remember. We did make it back home and the next morning the boys went out to buy a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. We did our best to make good of it and survived. A great opportunity for the kids to learn first had that the best of intentions and the best of planning can all be changed in a moment.