Cobwebs

My super cool skis...as seen from the 6-man lift in Garmisch...

About a year and a half ago we had a short in our stove...that caught on fire...and caught the things on top of the stove on fire...that caught the cabinets on fire....and the ceiling and....well...the kitchen.  It was HORRIBLE.  Jack (then only 6) discovered it, hid because it scared him and the smoke alerted a passing hero neighbor who then proceeded to begin fighting the fire and started directing other neighbors to fight the fire.  Erin...who has since moved from Germany will always be my angel firefighter.  And while the destruction of the fire and the impending legal trouble (because we live in government owned housing...)kept me up at night -  the thing that caught my eye right from the beginning was how ALL of the cobwebs in the house turned BLACK.  As I went around the house, I was stunned and I just kept thinking, "Oh, my gosh...ANOTHER cobweb....why did I never see that?  Oh, my gosh...another one..that is disgusting!"

What a NIGHTMARE...this looks contained but let me assure you, it affected the entire house...and exposed some pretty nasty cobwebs.  

They were no longer wispy little "oh-let-me-get-that-down-with-the-vacuum-extension" cobwebs....they were now greasy, black and heavy.  They swayed and marred up the walls even worse.  The cobwebs gave me the shutters and cleaning them out of the house was a nasty job.

What's weird...is I never noticed there were HUNDREDS!  Not a couple here and there...HUNDREDS.  My mouth must have stayed open all day as I examined the "before not noticed" spider homes and then I quickly closed it...because cobwebs that have survived a fire call for you to close your mouth and work...work with gloves, buckets of water, cleaner, vacuums....eeeeeeeeeYUCK!  I have the "hee-bee-gee-bees" thinking about it....

Fast forward to present day....right before Christmas and John leaving again.  A friend asked me...."Are you guys going to go skiing even though John isn't here??" and without even thinking I said, "I HAVE to...I have to clear out the cobwebs!"  In my head, at that time, I'm thinking about the little ones in the corners - the ones I thought I had right before the fire....but, as life would have it - once we got out there and the air was cold...and the people around us were happy...and we started skiing and just being free - I realized that I also had the nasty cobwebs - just like after the fire.  Hidden cobwebs that were dirty and menacing and had to be dealt with.

You know me...analogies are my life...and I was amazed at how much my life paralled my house.  There I was, thinking things were fine and then disaster struck - John, who had just returned home - would be leaving within a couple of weeks and wouldn't return for 6 months...at least.  All of our plans now hung in the air like whispers....all of the issues I had with being left hung in the air like cobwebs.  Dirty cobwebs - like the ones I cleared out of here after that fire.

And as I soaked up the awesomeness that is Garmisch...because God blessed it in a special way, I felt some of the cobwebs leave me.  I took time to ski fast and scare myself....I took time to ski slow and enjoy the people around me...I drank warm cappuccinos in the rustic D9 lodge at the base of the hill and took afternoon breaks with my sweet babies with apfel streudel (apple strudel) and hot chocolate...I had conversations with total strangers from several different countries and told God "thank you" about a million times.  He KNOWS I'm thankful to have that place....but I tell Him anyway.

The kids donning their "serious skier" faces...you can tell Jack is about to crack up...

And....the normal wackos that I call "mine"!

The Dremoser 9 (D9) Lodge in Gamrisch...I would like for "whoever built this" to come build my house!

We KNOW we have cobwebs but sometimes it takes a "fire" to make us don our rubber gloves and carry a bucket of clorox water to really get in the corners and get them out.  I'm just thankful that my gloves and water are called "Skiing with my Children" when it comes to the cobwebs that tangle up my life....and so thankful for the sweet husband who taught me to love it.