Don't Shoot!

        "Who's down there?", demanded my husband. His voice was void of any friendliness, and I could tell he thought I was a perpetrator. He had caught me in mid-chug, my water bottle quickly emptying it's icy cold contents into my mouth. This was just shortly before having our new baby boy (and a few days after I started making an effort to sleep in my own bed). My life flashed before my eyes, and I tried to quickly tell him that it was his sweet wife, not a burglar. That was a big mistake. I should have waited till the water was out my mouth before trying to talk because that last mouthful of water went into my trachea instead of my esophagus, sending my lungs into spasms. I could just picture my large, intimidating hubby popping around the corner with a handgun poised to unload on the person who had picked the wrong house to break into. My mind was screaming "Don't shoot!", but all that came out of my mouth was a weakly gasped,"It's me."
        During pregnancy, my nose always gets stuffy. This time around it was especially bad, and my family informed that I snored horribly most of my pregnancy.  All that mouth breathing left me very dry in the middle of the night, and this particular night I was especially parched. Our bed lies along a wall next to loud, creaky stairs that are notorious for waking my hubby up. When I woke up, I was so dried out that I decided to risk going down the stairs since my hubby was still sleeping soundly after I snuck out of bed.
        The aspirated water left me soundless and struggling to breathe, but my feet still worked fine. I ran to the stairs to give my hubby visual confirmation that I was indeed no thief, fully expecting to face the barrel of a gun. Thankfully, my husband initially thought I was the dog (which means there was no gun involved...and I tread like a four-legged hundred pound Weimeraner when I'm 37 weeks pregnant). As he stood on the stairs, he had seen a dim light come on and then fade...which made him think someone was in the refrigerator and clearly ruled out the dog. He didn't think anyone would really break in just to raid our refrigerator, so he then guessed it was one of our older girls. He was a little surprised to see my startled face pop around the corner. As we headed back to bed, we both had a really good laugh.
         It's funny how our perceptions affect situations. Remember how I thought we were going to a hotel with laundry facilities? Well, yesterday, I found out that the listing of laundry amenities didn't include an on-site washing machine.  Our two year old had overflowed her diaper an hour before arriving at our hotel, but I wasn't worried because I knew I could wash it, right? Wrong! When I brought a load down to the front desk asking where the washing machine was, the clerk informed me that they could do a load of laundry for me if I'd agree to a charge of $10 being added to our room bill. I decided to go the old-fashioned route and wash the car seat cover in the bathtub. Good thing I brought the laundry soap. I didn't really have to wash burp rags as I had anticipated because my very astute friend pointed out that hotel hand towels work great for that purpose. I have enjoyed using their laundry cart instead of my supply of cloths from home. If I had known there was no washing machine, I wouldn't have come. I would've missed out big time on having fun eating out, hanging out, and watching the girls try their hand at embroidery. Sometimes it's nice not to see all the work I could be doing, so I can relax. I'm so glad I came without knowing what lay ahead. God promises that "all things work together for good to those who love God" (Romans 8:28), and this one adventure I'm glad I didn't miss.