To Flush or Not to Flush?!

When you've lived away from your parents for 23 years and have a way of managing your home your own way, it's a little different coming back home to live with your folks and follow their methods once again!

Since I was married, I have lived in homes in suburbs where we have always had sewer systems with water service.  Now, we live in a home with a private well and septic tank.  My wonderful father is one of my most favorite people in this world, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a pessimist.  It's usually the glass is "half empty" as versus "half full".  Well, we added 3 new people to this house and of course, my Dad thinks we are going to ruin the septic system by flushing too much.  In this case, it's not "the septic tank is half empty, it's already full and busting out!"   

He told me, my husband, my son and my daughter the same story:  he watched a movie once called "Meet the Fockers".  They had water scarcity issues on the island and Dustin Hoffman (who played Bernie Focker) said the following in the video link here:

Water Scarcity Rules

Yes, we now live by my Dad's "Septic Tank Overflow Rule":  If it's yellow, let it mellow.  If it's brown, flush it down.  I don't think my family can create enough waste to ruin the septic tank, but sometimes we just simply forget and flush out of habit.  My daughter will sometimes ask if it's okay to "flush".  Yes, yes it is.  ;)

Moving back in with your parents is wonderful, don't get me wrong.  I am spending quality time with them, my children are spending quality time with them, we are doing the kind of hard work on the farm that's good, honest, productive and character building.  But there are sometimes little "bumps" in the road, and ours happens to involve toilet flushing.

Hey, if this is as bad as it gets, then we are lucky and blessed because if this is what makes Dad happy, then we'll be happy to oblige! 

My Return to the Farm

God has a plan for us.  I try to never question His ultimate plan, but sometimes I shake my head and wonder, "Why?"

It all started in January of 2015 when my Dad called with a bloody nose.  Yup.  That's what started it all.  LONG story.  But fast forward to April and the call about my Mom not being able to walk.  Dad has heart problems (but not for much longer as his surgery is scheduled for June 1st!) and Mom has back problems and hip issues preventing her from walking normal.  That's when we moved in with Mom and Dad back at the farm and left my husband home at our house to prepare for our big move.

Now the kids and I are living back on the farm and it's been tough and wonderful and tiring and rewarding and it has brought back so many wonderful memories of my childhood.  But I won't share them all at one time....

For now, I will simply share a picture of my childhood home and the surrounding farm.  Here's the picture of our garden. I have a whole story to tell about preparing this piece of land. ;)  Each post, I will slowly bring you with me down on the farm and you can experience farm life first hand!

Our large garden

We Moved!

I have moved in very suddenly with my parents.  That's kind of weird, because I'm 44 years old and have a 16-year-old and 12-year-old.  The first night, I went by myself and left the kids home with my husband.  The kids packed their bags the next day and came over to the farm, too (there's something about Dad taking care of them - it's just not the same!).

Mom had to go to the hospital by ambulance yesterday, Saturday morning, because she couldn't walk and was in tremendous pain in her hip and back.  They didn't help (x-rays didn't show a fracture so GO HOME! they told her) but sent her home with enough pain meds to last until 3:00 a.m. Monday morning.  Seriously.  Only until 3:00 a.m. and she was told to follow up with her primary care physician.  Am I thinking I'm the only one who gets this right now? How can she follow up with her doc when they aren't even IN until at least 8:00 a.m. Monday morning?  3:00 a.m. versus 8:00 a.m.?  I called the E.R. and asked for more pain meds for her.  They said the only way she can get them is by coming back to the E.R.  I explained the only way she can get there is by ambulance and they said, "Well, if that's the only way then you have to do it."  Seriously?

Pain Meds are the norm now!

I called in a favor with a couple friends:  a chiropractor and a PCP who's in the same office as my Mom's PCP.  He prescribed more pain meds and shared the info with her PCP.  Dr. Marc, the chiropractor, came over to her house and put his adjustment bed right next to her bed and helped her out of bed to flop right on his table.  She did get an adjustment and that made an amazing difference for 3 - 4 hours (she was actually walking again!) but the results didn't last.  That's to be expected.

In any event, the lesson of this story?  If you have to go to the E.R. and they give you pain meds, make DARN sure they prescribe enough to get you through until after you get in to see your primary care physician.  You'll be glad you did.