I Can Has Normal Bak Nau?

I will finally go back to work today. I say finally, even though I have only been out two days, because it feels like years since the house has been normal. And it is still far from it.

I am exhausted. I haven't slept much since the bigger of the two storms came through Thursday night.

The pets are stressed too...neither they nor I have eaten as much as we normally do. Not a bad thing for me but not a good thing for them, especially our 16 year old cat who is battling lymphoma. We nearly lost her last year when she had a flare up that caused her to quit eating completely. I was much relieved this morning when she finally showed interest in her food. The other cat still seems out of sorts. She stares at the holes in the ceiling and walls and at the big machines. And the dog thinks the machines sound an awful lot like vaccuum cleaners, which she abhores, but vaccuum cleaners on steriods.

I love our little condo. I did the first time I stepped inside. And while this isn't the home I would retire to, it is my refuge, and these days, my refuge is loud. Very loud. We have dehumidifiers and air movers everywhere. And it is hot too. The dehumidifiers put out a lot of heat to help dry things out, and of course, the holes in our ceiling, now enlarged to remove all the wet drywall and insulation, allow lots of the heat from outside to come inside. It has always been hotter upstairs than down, but now it is unbearable.

We are lucky. We have a spare bedroom that was unaffected, and if I keep the door closed, it stays reasonable cool and slightly less loud in there. Of course, we have had to move our parrot in there with us into her tiny travel cage. She isn't pleased. And from her new vantage point, she can see the roofers through the window as they go up and down the ladder. It freaks her out. And then of course, the cats have to be locked out of that room, even at night, because the travel cage offers them easier access to the bird, which also freaks her out. And the cats, who are accustomed to sleeping with/ON us, are freaked out by the noise and by being locked away from us at night.

I feel like this has taken over my life, like I can think of little else. The contractor will be here this afternoon to take a look, and I am hoping that he will be able to get us back to normal in a reasonable time. At least the dehumidifiers are scheduled to go away on Sunday, so it will be quieter.

I am looking forward to training today. I am looking forward to being in a room without holes in the ceiling, that is blissfully quiet and over-adequately air conditioned.

And I am looking forward to getting normal back. Hopefully sooner rather than later.