AN ARTISTIC ACCIDENT

First off, I want to say thanks to all of you who keep up with our family, and our blog; especially those of you who have offered your encouragement to me through your comments. I never really know how many people are reading our blog or how many people that read it even like it, so it’s a huge help when you tell me in-person or via the comment section. It’s just a wonderful blessing.

Okay, so today I have another story for you, only this one involves my sister-in-law, Steffanie, and myself. A few months after Caleb and Steffanie were married they traveled with us for a little while, increasing the total number of people on the bus to eleven. Having Caleb and Steffanie travel with us is always exciting and we also enjoy the added blessing of a few extra hands to help with cooking and loading in and out equipment. Which pretty much means we put them to work. :) Anyway, after eighteen years of living on a bus and singing, we have our own little routine for concert nights and everyone pretty much knows what we need to do and how we need to do it up front. Generally when we pull up in front of a church and have a few hours to get things ready before an evening concert, the boys will begin to load equipment into the church and get the stage all set up and the sound adjusted while Mom and Gabrielle set up our product table. Meanwhile, back in the bus, Danielle and I are either straightening things up or getting dinner ready. Then we go in for sound check and when we all get back to the bus we turn on a classic sitcom, (usually the Andy Griffith Show), and eat dinner. Then, since we decide what color to wear for the concert in advance, some of us start to get ready while others stay behind to clean the kitchen. Mom writes the song list and we all head out the door and into the church, and that’s what our concert prep generally looks like. It isn’t always quite this organized and routine, but occasionally things will run really smoothly.

Anyway, my story is about one such time when things didn’t exactly go the way we planned. The older guys were in the church setting up and Mom and Gabrielle were getting the table ready. Steffanie and I were getting things prepared for dinner and Danielle was in the back fixing her hair or something like that. I don’t really know where Zach and Christian were at the time, but Steff and I were the only two people in the front room. The microwave timer went off and I got some pot holders for Steffanie, who was attempting to take the mexican casserole out of the microwave, (we have a microwave/convection oven). Now, the pan that the casserole was in was one of those big, heavy Pampered Chef pans. I think they’re made out of clay or something like that. Anyway, it was a very heavy pan. So, Steffanie was trying to get the pan out of the microwave, but it caught on the microwave tray and while she was pulling the pan out, the tray began to slide out too. So, as it started slipping out, I grabbed the kitchen towel and tried my best to help her hold the pan up, however that was a bit of a challenge as I was in a really awkward position. Up until that point I had been standing on the other side of the microwave door holding it open for her, so to have to reach around the microwave door and help her hold up the pan was almost painful. Anyway, we stood there for a minute just holding this pan up so it wouldn’t fall and break into a million pieces, and I realized we really weren’t getting anywhere. So I said, “Hey Steff, I’m going to grab another pot holder so we can take this thing out.” With that, I let go of the pan and, apparently, she hadn’t realized that I was going to let go of it. So it started falling out and, try though she might to hold it up, it continued to fall. The pan fell into the sink and the casserole flew every direction, including up to the ceiling. Meanwhile, the microwave tray, (which was ceramic), fell onto the floor and shattered, leaving Steffanie and I standing in the middle of the floor amidst splattered casserole and broken ceramic. Being that I was on the other side of the microwave door, I hadn’t gotten hit with casserole, but Steffanie had been right next to the pan and thus had food all over her. On her clothes, in her hair; it was a mess. Thankfully no one was burned or hurt, but it was about a half hour before the concert and no one was ready yet and everyone was going to come in and want to eat and we had a huge mess to clean up. Add into that the fact that our dinner was all over the floor, couches, walls and ceilings, and it wasn’t the ideal situation. But we got it all cleaned up and I think some of us actually ate the casserole. There was a little left in the pan -which was still laying in the sink- and the rest had fallen on the floor and couches. Days later we were still finding beans in very odd places, which was proof of how much of a mess the casserole had made. It turned out all right in the end and no one had a panic attack or anything. And now, every time we mention that story Steff and I laugh about it. For everyone else it may have just been another mess to clean up, but for us it’s a fond memory of a very interesting experience we shared once upon a time. Funny how some of the most trying or even stressful encounters in life are the ones that stick with us and, occasionally, turn out to be something we can look back and laugh at.
Finding someone to pin the fault on is a difficulty in a situation like this, because since Steffanie had been the one to drop the pan it makes it sound like it was her fault. Which it wasn’t. So I could take all the blame for it, but technically it wasn’t all my fault either. It was a joint effort. And hey, next time you want a disastrous mess to clean up in your home, give us a call. Our prices are outrageous, but the results will undoubtedly be satisfactory. =)

-Abby