Level Three. That Is Not the Answer.

Level Three. That Is Not the Answer.

By Michelle Lloyd.

Busy family life was chaotic but Fun.  It was good to be a part of the mayhem and mad as it felt New One thrived on all the frantic frolics that often went on.

Shouts about being late, forgotten homework and messes made at the last minute were all a part of the getting out the door scenario and EVERY time, it was always the same.  Promises were made and attempts were had, but really everyone knew that come that time in the morning, madness would ensue.

New One was not eager to be the first out the door because he liked to linger a bit and make sure that Lana knew EXACTLY how much he loved her and that he would be back to see her after school.  He always felt that it was a bit unfair on his poor dog to be left at home like she had to be, it was abandoning really according to him, but despite his attempts to get his mum to think of it his way… she would not, and off they had to go to school and work respectively.

Of course there were rules of a morning and as much as possible everybody had to obey these.  If anyone strayed from the rules of the house then it could result in a bit of a dilemma for everybody.  It was easy to know what the rules were because mum and dad had taped them up in the kitchen and right in number one spot, was the if you have made a mess you need to clear it up, the biggie.  This biggie was the rule that meant if you had messed up a breakfast component, like spilled the jam or dropped a toast, then you needed to be on to the cleaning or else there could be consequences such as someone could slip over or trip up.  Really, all the house rules were based on the Health and Safety Dos and Don’ts.  They made sense to New One, though sometimes he did feel they were a bit boring and unnecessary.

New One had been at the breakfast table one morning when he had one of his accident prone incidents and instead of his rather large three child sized portion of scrambled eggs landing in his plate, it slipped off and landing right in front of an extremely appreciative looking Lana.  Needless to say that before New One could get from his seat to the cleaning equipment, kept handy for just such an occasion, Lana did the deed and scooped up the scrambled with her willing tongue.  It had been a bit tricky for New One to intervene and while it was not the solution that he had been going for, it was a solution of sorts and so he remained quiet about it.

Breakfast continued, New One re-helped himself to a bit more of a one person sized portion this time and dad joined him at the table.  In her hurry mum came into the kitchen and without knowing what had happened to the earlier portion of breakfast, put her designer and much-loved handbag right where the grease stain on the floor had been.  While Lana had done her best clear up and waste not want not bit, some of the stain had remained and promptly transferred itself on to a certain handbag.

New One watched with trepidation as his mum’s handbag sat on the newly formed stain and nothing was said about it.  Lana got up and walked over to another side of the kitchen, some might say with a slight guilty gait to her walk and others might disagree, but amble quicker than normal she did off to a far off part of the room.

Nobody spoke up about the incident and when the time came for it, mum lifted up her handbag and everybody as per normal, were herded out towards the front door.  There was a moment of slow motion for New One when his eyes focused in on his mum’s hand on the grease ridden bottom bag.  Dad had remembered some important work documents and as mum was the closest, she said she would go, as she was about to put down the bag on a very spick and span piece of carpet New One could take it no longer…

A yell of no was had and explanations given about what was probably still a greasy reminder of the breakfast incident on the bottom of the bag.  Mum consequently did not put her bag down on to the carpet and another mess was narrowly avoided.

It was with a massive sense of relief that getting into the car were, New One, his dad, mum and a newly wiped designer bag.  The material on the bag was easily cleaned and mum told New One that thanks to his speaking up, a far more serious and potentially permanent stain had not delayed them further.  She understood about Lana and her assistance in the breakfast blip and she even smiled when it was suggested that her alternative solution to it had been quite clever.  It was usually good to stick with the rules.  It was decided by the family as they drove off that they would all do their best, but if something did go off at a tangent objective wise, then one should always ensure that as far as possible nothing negative could come of it as a result.