Hell’s Kitchen

Okay, today was not enjoyable. And by ‘it sucked’ I mean it was not enjoyable.

I had to see to a few meetings during which niceties and composures listed precariously close to capsizing until, capsizing, everything turned upside down. And by ‘it sucked’ I mean it was not enjoyable.

It’s times like this I drive home from the Big Bad World thanking God in heaven I have a warm, welcoming home to come home to. And it’s thoughts of gratitude just like that one that oft-times have me calling home to let them know I’m thinking of them and will be there shortly. I like to hear the chipper giggly laughter of kids in the background and the hum of a household fairly carbonated with life and drama three-kids strong. I like to be reminded that no matter how Not Nice the world is outside these walls, there is nothing so Not Nice that the love and acceptance I find when I cross my threshold can’t be dissolved in a big giant family hug.

And then I woke up.

From the nightmare of the day, that is. Which was quite the wakeup call, all things considered. And not a phone call. Not at first, anyway. It was a text exchange with Beta Male that went like this:

“When r u coming back?”

“45 minutes. Everything okay? My meeting is going longer than I expected.”

“Yeah we made some failure banana bread and it didn’t taste right, soooooo….yeah.”

Lord.

(calls home) “Hey kiddo.”

“Hey dad.”

“Everything okay?”

“Not with the banana bread. We undercooked it and then kept on cooking it.”

“Yeah I read that part. I’ll be home in a few minutes. I hope you cleaned the kitchen up though.”

“Don’t worry, we did. We cleaned it just like you left it.”

Which was such a happy thought that last few miles on the way to house with the yellow police tape surrounding it.

Because apparently “We cleaned it just like you left it” means I left it like a murder scene.

 

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