Kilauea, chemo, and the dishwasher that wasn't

Today is the first day of school which means summer as we know it is over, never mind that there is still an entire month to go before autumn officially begins. Apparently nobody told Mother Nature to check her calendar, or else she also runs on school schedules, because it was a brisk 62 degrees with a playful breeze this morning. Liam made a quick change from shorts to sweat pants, all the kids left in hoodies, and I just about froze my poor naked bean my first trip out to the bus.

Which was understandably late by a few minutes. First day of school often has hiccups, I get it. The big kids had almost declared, "we missed it; it's too late" when I sent them back down the driveway. Within two more minutes, their bus trundled up to take them away.

We have a sophomore this year.

And a seventh grader.

No, PaPa, they're not 10 and 7. We can just hear you laughing.

Then it was the third grader's turn to catch his bus. 

Someone was absolutely delighted to learn the nature trick of using a stem to pop the flower off of a plant (and into unsuspecting victim's hair, face, etc) and was practicing earnestly. His bus is supposed to collect him at about quarter after 8 and we were out there before 10 after. We waited until twenty til 9 when Dada, bless his heart, decided to take him to school. I have no idea if we missed it because it was really early despite being late the first round or if it was really late from being stuck farther back in the queue. Again, first day is rife with snafus, I get it, but tomorrow is my last chemo and I will be half an hour away and therefore unable to take him if the bus fails...

When we look back on this summer, especially as I am terrible at remembering dates, it will be the summer Kilauea erupted and kept going, the summer I had chemo (which also felt at times like it would be never ending; I would swear it has been 100 days since the last round when tomorrow will be exactly 3 weeks, like every other round has been), and the summer we were without a dishwasher. The one that was part of the house when we bought it almost five years ago started limping along this winter and early spring. The button for "smart wash" stopped working, so I switched to using "normal wash." That one was next to give up the ghost, but "light wash" would light up... alas, then the "start" button quit. 

*sigh* 

Nothing to be done once your "start" button goes, folks.

So there we were at the  Memorial Day weekend sales. We picked out a spiffy (we thought) new black one with a towel bar which would be delivered in a reasonable time as it was a special order. Said day comes and goes, no dishwasher. Eventually one shows up and has no towel bar, but at this point we decided we didn't care that much and we were happy to have assistance washing dishes for a family of five plus visitors. It's installed, installers leave, I load it, add soap, push buttons, and get "E 24". Google tells us that's an error regarding draining. Great.

After some phone calls and more days, that dishwasher is unloaded, dishes washed by hand, and the installers eventually come to remove it. They realize that the second new dishwasher they've brought to our home is not black but stainless steel. Oh dear. They don't even unload that one but do take the new/old black one sans towel bar which doesn't drain and apologize.

We go back and peruse more dishwashers, select a different brand and model, and now still have the gaping hole in the kitchen where a dishwasher belongs. Carrie is incredulous that she's been washing dishes all summer. First world problems. 

Feel free to place your bets as to whether we will have one by Labor Day or not. I never would have believed that all my chemo would be done before we received a working dishwasher. I guess time is relative. 

*Update* Ugh, sorry all the photos spewed into the middle. I guess that's why I don't blog after bedtime generally! Apparently they tweaked the bus schedule and Damon is to be picked up at 8:04 instead of 8:14. Now we know. Cross your fingers tomorrow is smoother! And while you're praying over my hopefully very last chemo ever, toss in some prayers for the good folks in Hawaii that Hurricane Lane downgrades and isn't as absolutely awful as it could be, please. It hasn't been the best year, that's for sure.