Chaos-O-Meter

Today’s Chaos-O-Meter indicates a high level of chaos in the Kroeker house.

High reading, but could be worse.

• “Complete peace.”
• Next is “Mildly Messy.”
• After that, midway on the Chaos-O-Meter, reads “Minor Mishaps.”
• The next degree of chaos is “Dust Everywhere,” which apparently the children have determined adds a lot to the chaos. I’m surprised they didn’t write something about scrapes and scabs, because we’ve had our share of minor injuries.
• The last mark on the Chaos-O-Meter is “Crazy Chaos.” 

I asked the kids to invent the gauge, then I added today’s reading.As you can see, we’re nearing “Crazy Chaos.” I left some room for additional chaos, however, because I know it could be much worse and still may intensify before the projects are completed.

• A kid fell off a bike, resulting in minor scrapes and a bruised ego.
• Flooring tear-off turned out to be much more involved and back-breaking than expected. Two layers of underlayment and vinyl, the bottom-most layer splintering during removal. A terrible mess.
• Burning smell emanating from motor of power saw (used to assist with floor tear off) set off the smoke alarm numerous time. Filled the main floor with overwhelming smells. Evacuated the house and stayed on the porch with parakeets and their delicate lungs while the workers continued pounding away.
• Sibling bickering continues and seemed to intensify at moments today.
• Painter/Handyman sat down to give me the bad news as he added…and added….and added…and added up the bill. With all the add-ons (which we requested and approved), it’s twice the original quote, and they’re not yet done. We knew it would be high, but not that high.
• Nearly every item in three bedrooms is stuck somewhere in mountainous piles scattered throughout the main floor.
• Guest stubbed toe on one of the many pieces of junk tumbling from the piles.
• Guest scraped leg on a decorative wooden mail holder currently on the floor instead of the wall.
• Guest — from another country, I might remind you — lost a filling from one of her molars. We had to suddenly determine a plan of action in the same time frame as the smoke alarm incident and banging and clanging of crowbars in the bathroom. A trip to the dentist? Who pays? Any pain? We contacted the mother after leaving several messages and finally got through to make a decision.
• The Boy (6yo) wept because he can’t sleep with the girls.
• The Boy was granted the special favor of sleeping in the only bedroom in which no work is being done.
• The Boy, making poor decisions due to fatigue (no one is sleeping well in these odd conditions), pulled a calendar off his sister’s wall.
• The Boy lost the privilege of sleeping in that room and was moved to another location while weeping with frustration, not remorse.

I guess that’s it. I’m probably forgetting something.Does it count that I can’t find all of my clothes?That there are very few mirrors still mounted to the wall that I can use to apply make-up or check on hair?That the washing machine is in the entry way to our home and you would run into it if you came to visit this weekend?That school begins next week?I’m hoping we’re on the home stretch and that the Chaos-O-Meter will move out of the red.If you’re praying for me, thank you. Even with the challenging external chaos — so many things that cannot be controlled — my inner chaos reading isn’t quite as high. I’m supposing this is due to Divine assistance.I’m so grateful.In the meantime, count your blessings, as will I.If you can’t think of any, be glad you aren’t taking photos of this for your blog: