41° day, wife preserver (DH’s term for the air-conditioner) working a treat – after cleaning the filters for the first time since installation in 2003! Apparently they need their filters cleaned every 6-12 months to work properly – who would’ve guessed??!! Anyway, as I said – wife preserver working a treat, kids happy, house cool, on the couch watching tellie, power goes out……………yep, you heard me – power goes out. WTF!! Check the fuse box – everything fine there, sweaty palms, deep breath, change the phone over to OMG an old push button phone and call the electricity company. Recording – trees over power lines in our area – expected restoration time 5pm. What! Hysteria sets in. 5pm! It’s. Only. 3:20. How the hell are we going to survive without the wife preserver?!?!?!?! I know, I’ll put the fan on – duurrrrrrrrr – NO ELECTRICITY!!! Everything in our house is electric – water, stove, everything! Shit!!!!
Call DH in hysterics nearly hyperventilating to tell him the situation at home coz he’s god and he can fix this!!!! And you know what he suggests? Go to the pool!!! What’s with that? Go. To. The. Pool. Heeelllllllloooooooooo – major bush city happening downstairs!! Bathers – I don’t think so!! Then he asks what other choice do I have and after frantically running through my options (all my nearby friends are out!!!!) I numbly realise he’s right.
In the bathroom, shower running (no hot water coz there’s no electricity), trying to convince myself I can get in there – I’m strong, I’ve had babies for gods sake!!! OMG – major nipple erectus happening, quick soap up, quick shave (boy am I going to suffer for that one) and out. Dry off, bathers on, nooooooooooooooo! Wouldn’t you know it – didn’t clean up enough!!!! Shit. Shit. Shit. Moisturiser, more shaving (god am I going to suffer for that!). Thoughts of numerous discussions over Brazilians etc enter my mind – oh shut up! Too late now!
Bag packed, boys ready, time to put shoes on, phone rings, DH home in half an hour if we want to wait. Great, half an hour to think about the fact that I’m about to go out in public in my bathers – not a pretty thought!! Get to the pool, boys straight in, suntan lotion DH’s back, he does mine and he gets in. Me? Sitting there smooth talking myself out of my shorts, boys screaming mum! Mum! Muuuuuuummmmmm! Come on mum! Heads turning to find the awful mother neglecting her children. Guilty walk to the pool and into the water – after carefully determining there wasn’t anyone I knew there.
Lovely time in the pool, get out looking like a prune, towel around my waist, turn around to find the skinniest mum of my mothers group arriving with her family, haven’t seen each other for more than 12 months, me with bat-wing arms flapping in the breeze and her in her current fashion bikini!!!!! Life can be cruel. Console self with take-away for dinner!!!!
On a more meaningful note – the boys loved the fact that I had joined the three of them at the pool for the first time in probably 2 years. It was really nice to do something together. I was reminded how much I love the water and the boys were really happy. That my friends, has to outweigh all the other crap 🙂
Boneblower's World 
January 11, 2008 at 4:08 pm
I inflict my beached whale self on swimmers on a three times a week basis. I used to be all self-conscious about being seen in a swimsuit, but these days, I let it all hang out and just enjoy myself.
Being cool is so much more important than looking cool.
January 11, 2008 at 5:11 pm
He he he. Nothing consoles caught-in-bathers-by-a-skinny-chick like takeaway for dinner….
I woulda just jumped in the bath.
January 11, 2008 at 9:54 pm
We had a similar thing happen. It was 7pm, I had just gotten Amy to sleep and BAM! No power. Ring power co and Oh dear, there was a car accident (okay, so it really was an oh dear, but no one was killed) and power was due back on at midnight.
I was first sooo pissed off, because I had a whole evening planned AND I HADN’T EATEN YET. Lucky I have a laptop *sigh*
January 12, 2008 at 5:58 am
What? No pictures? In bathers, mind you!! We are deprived. On the other hand, your hands were probably too busy, what with the takeaway and all.
January 12, 2008 at 10:45 am
and that’s part of the reason I wear board shorts to the pool! lol
Yes wife preserver……… i’m sure my hubby would giggle at that – I’m always “hot” during the warmer months.
January 12, 2008 at 8:11 pm
We have brown outs here. Where we lose just enough power to make the a/c blow warm air and the fans to rotate once every 30 seconds. It’s hopeless.
I love the pool too but have not been in for years. Fears of Green Peace mistaking me for a whale and rolling me back towards the ocean play in my mind at the thought of putting on swimmers.
January 12, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Riayn – I know you’re right but………….
Kelley – The water was freezing!!!
Veronica – I would’ve caught up on some zzzzzzzz’s 🙂
LouCeel – Don’t fancy the thought of someone trying to harpoon me! Indian for dinner – very noice 🙂
Bettina – I haven’t found any board shorts I like in my size 😦
Tigg – Sounds horrid!! I so hear ya sista with the Green Peace thing 🙂 30kg overweight – all the wisdom & knowledge had to go somewhere………….
January 13, 2008 at 3:24 am
OMG, you are so FUNNY!! All you bloggers talking about the heat where you are makes me want to run right outside and jump in one of our icy cold snowbanks!
Well…maybe not.
😉
January 15, 2008 at 1:25 am
We get the “monster possums have gnawed their way through every powerline in the whole state of Victoria” excuse for blackouts.
In the coming days keep chanting -moisturise,moisturise,moisturise and then….wax !