If you are in your first trimester, stop reading immediately.
On our block, garbage is only collected once a week, so you have to stay fairly on top of things. For some reason, we have two town trash cans, and I was operating under the assumption that my husband was bringing both cans to the curb every Sunday night. Unfortunately, he was assuming that we were only putting trash into one of the cans. Well, you know what happens when you assume?
MAGGOTS!
That's right friends, I looked out my kitchen window and saw some little white lines all over the navy trash can. I squinted and could see that they were moving. When I went outside to investigate, I encountered a can crawling with bug larvae. When I opened it I saw the one lonely trash bag in the bottom of a puddle of garbage juice, a took in a smell so much worse then the smell of old trash that it is past description, and saw that down there in the bottom of the can the number of wormy little white horrible disgusting things had to be in the millions. The trash could have been in that bags for weeks, we have no way of knowing, and could well have had diapers in it.
So, I tried hard most of the day not to think about it, and as soon as the kids were in bed I went out to clean up this mess. I have to admit, I was as terrified as I was disgusted. I am not sure what I thought those little larvae were going to do to me, but I said a prayer to Our Lady for strength and protection and set to my task.
She must have been there with me, because in the half hour or so that I was at work on this I could think only of the small blessings of the situation, which were as follows:
1. The hose reached the driveway
2. The driveway has a significant slope
3. I don't have a job that requires me to do this on a regular basis
4. I know that my mother did this at least once her in life, so I knew that I could, too
5. I was going to take a warm bath as soon as I was finished
6. Safely past my first trimester, I was able to do the whole thing without puking
That is right, your prize for reading all the way to the bottom of this horrible post is my announcement on this blog that I am expecting my sixth child on December 9, which will be my 8th wedding anniversary. I had been waiting for some cute way to break the news, but I have gotten to 18 weeks without coming up with anything, so here it is. Ultrasound is in two weeks, and we do hope to find out and share the gender, there is a lot riding on it, so stay tuned!
11 comments:
Oh wow, Congratulations Mary Alice! I first started reading your other blog when you were at the tail end of your last pregnancy, and so even though I don't "know" you, suddenly your being pregnant again (and so far along!) makes me feel like I've known you for quite a while.
I was in Manhattan with my three kids yesterday and I was imagining you walking around the city with all of yours, imagining even more that you were still there and that we'd run into you (and I was checking out all the fancy strollers too).
I've always (always... what has it been, a year?) admired you and was glad to find your blog when I did, and even more glad that you and your friends started Building Cathedrals. It's wonderful to get to read about other young, well educated, stay at home Catholic moms. I only mention the well educated part because I graduated from Stanford and sometimes get to feeling bad that I'm not "using" my degree by staying home and planning to homeschool. It really helps to know that I'm not alone. You have a beautiful family, and thank God for your new blessing.
CONGRATULATIONS a million times over, MaryAlice.
I can't believe the disgustingness of the maggot situation. We know why God's blessing you with such a large brood--you can get 5 kids to sleep simultaneously and carry a sixth in your womb while you clean maggots off your property. You can handle anything! Seriously.
I'll say some prayers for more relaxing evenings--warm baths, skip the maggots, from now on.
I love the title of this post.
Maggots are sick! We are dealing with some now because the stupid squirrels have chewed through the lids of our trash cans, argh!
Congrats again on the pregnancy, I was wondering when you were going to post about it on the blog.
I'm just a lurker on this blog but wanted to comment. Congratulations on the big blessing of your baby. And on the little blessings that made the maggot job not so horrid.
Pregnant or not, the sight of maggots induces the gag reflex in me. Yuck.
CONGRAT's !!!!!:):)
MA, this is such wonderful news - baby Leo is the luckiest kid in town, with 4 older siblings to spoil him and now a baby brother or sister that will be so close in age to him - praise God!
The maggot situation is totally disgusting, I cringed just reading it! Amazing that Our Lady gave you the grace to see the positive in the situation while you were cleaning up...JM is right, you can do anything now!
Congratulations and very special that the baby's due date is on your anniversary!
MA, I find you absolutely amazing and this story only confirms that God has appropriately blessed you with the beautiful and plentiful brood you have--and all the gory joy that comes with it!
I finally got the smell of poop off my hands tonight after a 4th washing. Just one of those days. I think I would definitely take poop, though, over maggots. Lol!
Uber congrats on #6. We are overjoyed for you all...
Oh, Mary Alice, I am behind in reading -- but what wonderful news for my catching up! (The baby, not the maggots LOL) Congratulations! And, much sympathy for the maggots. That's happened to us once (or twice...), too. My kids seem to think it's some weird kind of nature study when it happens. Where's that green gaggy face emoticon???
Congratulations, Alice!
Congratulations, Mary Alice. I wish you lived near my sister-in-law here in PA. She just had her sixth child in May--a month after her 8th anniversary. I know she would love to have play dates with someone who doesn't think she is crazy!
God's blessings be upon you.
Stephanie
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