Mild and Mildew

We made a mistake.   My parents, my husband and I weren't paying attention and didn't think to go and check on their house while they've been away in the mountains, sequestering themselves from contact during COVID-19.   It was by chance that we went over for something (at this point I don't even remember the reason) only to discover their air conditioning wasn't functioning.   The cessation of normally flowing cool air which brought with it removal of moisture in the air, coupled with some flooding in the basement and we had a situation on our hands. 

We got the air conditioning repaired with the replacement of a new condensate pump, but during the time the air conditioning wasn't running, heavy rain had brought some water into their basement that the dehumidifier wasn't able to remove rapidly enough allowing mold and mildew to grow. 

Mechanical things are running as expected now and their basement is nice and dry, leaving us with surface cleanup to contend with.  This is no small task, as you might well imagine.   People have stuff, and every bit of that stuff could have mold or mildew on it.   If I think about all the "stuff" I have and what a mess it might be to clean it all up should it covered in mildew, my head would hurt. 

Today, my husband and I went over to my parent's house to take stock of the situation.   There are some badly cvered things, but fortunately, not everything is affected.   It would appear mildew has preferred surfaces on which to grow.   

There was a wooden chair covered top to bottom in light grey mildew surrounded by a table and work tools that didn't appear to be affected at all.  Which makes our job both easier and harder.   Easier in that there are less things to clean or discard, harder in that we don't want to ignore something that needs attention. 

Fortunately, the living space in my parent's home is on the main floor and now that the humidity is under control, we can close off the basement and not have to scramble to get things cleaned up.   I hate that this happened to their home—which is also my childhood home.   We're looking at it as an opportunity to go through things and do some spring cleaning, or maybe in this case some autumn cleaning. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son has been exhibiting a sudden burst of maturity.   He just seems more grown-up.   It's hard to put my finger on because it's little things: words, reactions, behaviors.   He suddenly seems so much older than he was only a few months ago.   Maybe having his sister move out has been a good thing for his maturity as much as it has been for her.   

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter tried to assault Blake today with her cuticle clippers.  She didn't like that he said she had to do a bit more reading because he'd heard her singing for some time and she couldn't have been reading while that was going on.   She was angry about that and she fought him verbally and then physically when he wouldn't back down and let her get away with saying she had finished her reading when he knew she hadn't.   When she lunged at him with her cuticle clippers, he disarmed her and grounded her.   It took me a half-hour in her room to get her to finally back down from Blake being completely wrong, a liar, etc., etc. and accept that she'd heaped on consequence after consequence for a few more minutes of reading.   She's fighting hard lately, pushing, not backing down, and being willing to take far worse consequences because she's testing boundaries.   She wrote him an apology letter and is now a happy child again.  When she finally gives in, it's a dramatic transformation in mood.