Once Upon a Time...

there was a family who lived in the woods of northern Minnesota.  Their old farmhouse was drafty and starting to crumble.  This old house was heated with a potbellied wood stove in the kitchen area and a wood stove made from a barrel that sat in the basement.  It was the spring of the year, and the melting snow was seeping through cracks in the basement wall, leaving a couple of inches of water all over the floor.

While the mom in this family was wringing her hands and worrying about patching the basement walls when there was no money for said patching, her daughter reminded her that life wasn't all that bad.

While sitting at the table next to the potbellied stove, the mom heard a flap, flap, flapping sound coming down the stairs from the bedrooms above.  Slowly a pair of feet wearing swim fins appeared, followed by a bathing suit clad body.  Finally the head became visible, complete with swim cap, nose plugs and a snorkel.

This apparition then said, "Mom, could you go start a fire in the barrel stove?  I've invited my friends over for a pool party and I want the water in the basement to be warm."

After the mom picked herself up off the floor and  wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes, she realized that most things can be made better with a good sense of humor.

The mom seems to have forgotten that lately, and she is glad that this memory surfaced, for she needed to be reminded that the world will not end just because there is water in the basement.....or that the furnace doesn't work right.