"She fell down the hole!!..."

Again, I find myself laughing and shaking my head as I drive home in a state of amazement. I left my house, on my way to meet a family I potentially am going to be babysitting for, with high hopes and in anticipation for not only meeting with what sounded like a great family of 7, but the opportunity to give these poor parents a night out without children and put a few extra dollars in the wallet. I never imagined having a story like this 90 minutes later...



I was given directions that I was told would lead me to a mailbox by the road with a "long bumpy driveway." As I drove down this road and came upon the mailbox I was not surprised to see the beginning an unpaved bumpy driveway but what I didn't expect was to not be able to see a house. I forged on and pulled into the driveway in which I manuevered my way up a relatively steep dirt hill nicely adorned with a gigantic rut at least a foot wide up the entire right side. I safely made it to the top of the hill where in front of me stood a very old, run down, two story house. I parked precariously on the hill of a driveway and contimplated whether to go to the front of the house which included climbing a few newly added and misfitted stairs to a porch that had the potential of falling off the front of the house at any point in the near future or walking blindly to the back where I wasn't sure there was a door but the family vehical was parked in that location so I had a pretty strong suspicion there was one there.



I chose the back door, and literally opened a door to the rest of this fantastic adventure. At the door stood a little girl around age 3 who's long hair was blowing in the wind and who's face lit up as I got closer and closer. Behind her stood her sister, age 2, who eyes glimmered in the setting sun and behind her...a pitt bull who decided to rush out the door and welcome me with with lots of loving slobber followed by a lab who followed in line. I entered cautiously, one because I didn't see anyone over the age of 3 and secondly because I didn't know what other animal was going to rush around the corner. Fast forward 15 minutes and finally the mother of these lovely children is released from one of those phone calls that you can't hang up on with a very needy older relative and we began our conversation that would shed an incredible amount of light.

We chatted as her newest addition of 4 weeks slept on her lap so peacefully. I learned that the pasture I had driven by on the driveway was home to a steer. Yes, you heard me right. I didn't see a steer but I trusted she wouldn't lie to me about this. I was also enlightened to discover that this steer had friends in a few giagantic pigs, ya know, the ones you see at the fair and wonder how in the world a pig got that big, a good handful of chickens, ducks, dogs, cats and I believe there was one other wonderful animal that was mentioned but honestly, I don't remember. All of that information was fluttering around in my mind just making my eyes squint and my head tilt to the side like a dog listening to it's owner baby talk to it.

After chatting about different things for some time including very conservative views, over controlling mother-in-laws, animals, husbands, money issues, potty training, cleaning habits, clothing trends, college life and so on this faint sound floated from upstairs down to the couch where we were chatting. This sound was the one that made you tilt your head and question what it is your hearing. The question "is that laughing or crying?" was asked and honestly neither of us knew. It sounded much like a child in a closet with the door shut yelling for their sibling to let them out of that very soft dark hole. At the top of stairs came the 5 year old yelling for her mom which sparked her to quickly roll the 4 week old into my arms and race up the stairs.

"She fell in the hole!!...in the hole!!!" is what I was now hearing. Now, when you hear something like that you first ponder what type of hole. The laundry chute was an option...possibly some sort of attic door or something was also an option but I obviously had no idea, I just sat on the couch rocking the newborn and questioning whether to ask if I should call 9-1-1 or not. After some screaming and rustling everything calmed down. It was about 30 seconds later I heard the mother sending one child to their room and herding the others downstairs.

What happened you ask? Well...the oldest of the 5 children and the only boy in the family was on the top bunk bed in the the girls room. He playfully had climbed over the top headboard and wiggled his way down between the bed and the wall hanging on to the headboard with his arms so all you could see were his arms and head. His second youngest sister, the one who met me at the door when I initially had arrived had also found her way to the top bunk and decided play "monkey see, monkey do." Being wedged between the bed and wall isn't the worst thing in the world and completely appropriate for young children, or drunken college students, but what is a semi crucial step is that you are either tall enough to touch the floor or lower headboard or remember to and are strong enough to hang on if you so choose. Well, as I'm sure you have assumed already the girl was certainly not tall enough to touch the ground or second headboard and was too young to understand she would need to hang on. She was literally hanging by her head between the headboard and wall. Apparently this was a "hole" in little people world.

Yes, it was a serious situation, she is okay and I'm relieved I didn't have to make that 9-1-1 phone call. It's not that I mind making that call - I've called them maaaany times while at working at the Y (I'm sure I've very much exceeded the national average for calls made to them) but I'm just glad that she was okay...and I know you are too, even though it would have made the story that much better...and longer.

So, all's well that ends well. We got the kiddos off to bed and then I made my exitus. Try backing down a very steep dirt driveway at dusk trying to avoid the ducks that had found my car to be their new best friend and the gigantic ruts I successfully avoided on the way up. It's a chore let me tell ya.

So yes, just another day in Piperland. Another day...another adventure...