My Poor Firefighter

It was one of those shifts...you know, the 24 calls in 24 hours kind of shifts.  The kind of shift where dinner is eaten in segments and completed around 10pm.  He went in early because he thought he had a drug test and wanted to get those extra 3 glasses of water he had taken in out of his system as soon as possible.  And, that was cancelled.  But, he did end up catching a run more than an hour before his shift technically started (which would have taken until well after that shift technically ended, probably better that my FF took it) and the guy on the shift ahead of him even had his gear set up for my FF when he arrived.  How's that for brotherly love!!

And it just kept going from there.

And today he has a TON on his hunney-do list.  Now, before you get too sappy about, "Oh, the poor FF.  He didn't sleep all night long.  Give him a break.  Oh, the poor, poor man."  Realize that this is indeed something that could have been done, oh I don't know, in JULY when he was playing firefighter at the race track with my dad, leaving me to unpack our house, with 4 children in the mix.  So yeah, pity won't be coming from me!!!  

Tomorrow, my oldest is turning 13.  I will have a teenager in the house from now until January of 2028.  NOW the pity party may commence.  And to celebrate this joyous milestone, we are inviting a few other newly and nearly teen-aged boys over for a sleep over - tomorrow.

Now, FF calls our house, oh so affectionately, The Ice Shanty.  He says it is no larger than those lovely little fishing shanties that inevitably get swept away on Lake Winnebago every spring.  BUT, there are 5 bedrooms (mind you one serves as a dining room) and it is a bath and a half.  So, it is not really THAT tiny.  (Although, I could use a bigger bedroom...)

However, there is some underutilized space in our house that was supposed to be organized, oh I don't know, in AUGUST, but instead...nevermind.  I digress.  

Not ours, but very similar -
sans the paddles or puck. :)

Anyway, as I was saying, there is definitely some untapped potential downstairs. Sofa, DVDS, TV, DVD player, stereo...roughing it though - no iPod dock!  And a Foosball Table and an Air Hockey Table just WAITING to be set up.  But, my FF waited soooooo long to do it, he can't find the bolts for the legs of said gaming tales (or the paddles - well one paddle, or the pucks, or the foosball).  Oh yeah, my FF also sent the Wii down there last month.  The couch for the kids is taken over by the basket of socks my FF is still refusing to fold and I am letting him, but not doing it for him. :)  And with all of those teenage boys converging on our Shanty, they need to have a space to roost. That seems to be the perfect place to send teenage boys...as long as they don't mind the train table and play kitchen...Anyway, that leads us to the urgency for my FF to get that space taken care of - by 4pm tomorrow.  Part of me does feel bad, because it was a looooooooooooooooong night.  But most of me says, well, guess it is time to pay the piper.  This could have been done six months ago.
  

Oh yeah, and he has a relative that was breathing down my neck about where my FF's location...he wants a toilet installed, like six months ago.  He has to do that today, too. Poor little, Fireman.  

Or not!

The weekend is almost upon us.  I can hardly wait!  In fact, I woke up this morning thinking it WAS Friday.  I think I am just trying to skip that talk I have to give our whole staff after school today.  For someone who talks for a living, I HATE talking in front of adults.  Anyway, check up on your muppets and let them know you love them - even when they are driving to the drink of insanity.  Kiss your FFs and be a supportive force as they work to complete their hunney-do lists.  Friday is indeed on its way!  Happy Thursday!