As if getting ready for the holidays isn’t stressful enough, yesterday we went through a bit of pre-holiday excitement. Not of the fun and good kind, unfortunately.

First, DH and I made arrangements for a trip to The Big City late next month. We have to schedule carefully because in the winter the ferry only runs every other week. And it leaves late Friday night and returns Monday. And takes 12 hours each way. I know. Don’t get me started. Yes, there is air service, but we have some big items to purchase and need to use our truck to get them, hence the need to ferry. We also had to make an appointment for Dear Daughter # 2 in The City. I called that office. Not a problem. Can get you in when you need to. Yay! All works out. For about five minutes.

DH calls me back to say he’d misread the ferry schedule. It returns much earlier in the day so the appointment for DD#2 needs to be moved. Oh, and the shipping folks who have the kitchen cupboards we ordered in October have been trying to call us forever to make sure we can pay the freight charges. Have they called? Don’t you think I’d TELL you they’d called if they’d called? OK, he’ll take care of that, and does.

So I call the office to rearrange the appointment for DD#2. No problem moving the appointment later in the week, but to get her there we have to send her on a flight from here to The Big City as an unaccompanied minor where DH will meet her (he’ll be staying in The Big City for a week of meetings while the kids and I return on the ferry with our laden truck) and take her to her appointment. Now, I know you’re all freaking out about sending a little kid on a plane alone but (a) it’s only a 45 minute flight, no stops, so it’s not like she can get lost, (b) if I were to accompany her it would cost another $400 because I’d also have to take DD#1 and sorry, but that’s expensive, and (c) DD#2 is sooooooooo excited about going on an airplane alone, something her big sister has NEVER done. You have to throw a kid a bone sometimes, right? She and DH will return together that evening.

Whew!

But wait! There’s more! While I’m on the phone with DH for like the eightieth time that morning (yes, all of this went down before noon), I discover the hamster has escaped. GAH!!!!! And it was MY fault. I’d neglected to secure his cage door the night before. How he managed to drop three feet and get past two cats and two dogs, I’ll never know. He was in the laundry room, under the dryer. How did I discover this? One of the cats was constantly in there all morning and I kept tripping over her. Duh! So now I have to move appliances. When I scoot the dryer, the thin metal vent tube tears. Dang! Now the hamster has access to the vent that leads to the outside. Where it’s about 20 degrees and snowing. @$%&@!!!! I call DH. He suggests checking under the house to be sure the hamster hasn’t gotten into the tube and out the flappy vent thing. &%%*$#^&$%#!!!!!!! Did I want him to come home to do it? No, I can unscrew the panel to access under the house, crawl around under there to the tube and see if I’m going to have some horrible conversation with the kids when they get home. I hate going under the house, but I can’t afford to wait for him to get home, as the hamster may be gone for good. And crawling around under a filthy, dark house is a good way to remind me to secure the cage in the future. If we have a hamster to secure in the future. Oy vey.

When I go under the house, flashlight in hand, there’s no break in the tube (yay!), but no telltale weight of a hamster either. Where is he? I hadn’t seen him under the dryer or washing machine or any place else. !#%$#!!!!

Back to the laundry room, where I have to climb over the washer and check inside the open back of the dryer. Did you know hamsters don’t come when you call them? But luckily, this one is very friendly, and had no problem coming out from the back of the dryer to me. Yay! I scooped him up and quickly determined I cannot vault a washing machine while holding a hamster. Hmmm. But, smart girl that I am, I’d brought an old pillowcase under the house with me in case I had to net him and had brought it into the laundry room. It was actually within reach. Yay! Did you know hamsters don’t like being in pillowcases? Well, he had no choice.

So the hamster is back in his cage. The travel/appointment schedule for next month is set. We jet out on Sunday for the holidays (also with an ungodly schedule, but that’s another story).

All is well and right in the world once again. For the moment.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, all! See you in ’08!!!