Keeper

 The final weekend of spring break found me once again pumping excess water out of my basement.  Under the best of circumstances, this is not a fun job.  Between the constantly wet, cold feet; anxiety over the state of the appliances in the basement; and the smell of wet cardboard (best described as the smell of ass), it's just not fun.

I was on my own for much of the work; JT was away for the weekend.  By Sunday afternoon, the pace of the water flow had slowed, the appliances were safe and I had decided that JT"s 7 pm return would be a fine time to break camp from my basement hell.    He had been away for 5 days and I had spent much of Saturday and all of Sunday in a dank, wet basement.  His return was my excuse for a hot shower, a warm supper and some time spent doing something else.  Plus, we had some NCAA tournament brackets to watch together.  When he came home Sunday evening, his first question for me was, "how is the basement?"  I gave him a tour of the mess and he was immediately concerned; especially about me.  "Are you tired, Mama?" he kept asking me. 

I took my scheduled break and JT and I caught up.  As 9 pm approached, I couldn't resist one last look at the basement.  JT came downstairs with me and as I set up to pump out the water, he volunteered to help.  It may have been a weak moment, but I was exhausted and help seemed like a good deal.  I took him up on the offer, though with some trepidation.  There is nothing fun about a wet-dry vac and gallons of water and I figured he'd soon tire of this adventure. 

But I was wrong.  The next afternoon, after we got home from school, JT accompanied me downstairs and set to work again.  This water removal project was the result of a day's over-fill; requiring both the 800 gallon an hour pump and the wet/dry vac to bat clean-up.  It took nearly an hour and JT helped for the duration.   And the next morning, when he heard me arise at 5:30 am, he came downstairs to help again.

It's no secret that this boy of mine is my pride and joy.  I love him with every fiber of my being.  I am regularly proud of his sense of humor, his imagination, and kind heart.  But his good-natured help with the basement simply blew me away.  He was matter-of-fact in his assistance; hard-working and strong and with the ability to laugh thrown in the mix.  As he stood in the basement, wielding the wet/dry vac and laughing all the while, I was as proud of him as I've ever been.

He's a keeper.