Bad to Worse

While the kids eat their supper, I usually finish cooking mine. When I say, “cooking,” I mean, “microwaving.” Sometimes that means reheating a leftover. Tonight that meant reheating the chili that had been sitting around for 20 minutes while the kids ate.

I popped my bowl in the microwave and hit start. But instead of the typical hum of the microwave microwaving, I heard nothing. The whole microwave went dark.

I suspected a tripped breaker, and went downstairs to check the box. Sure enough, a breaker was off. Unfortunately, the circuit hooked up to the microwave was still on. The circuit that was off was hooked up to the septic system pump.

Uh oh.

While mommy ran outside to check the septic system, I played with the breakers. I flipped the septic system pump breaker, watched it turn on, and watched it turn off several seconds later.

Mommy reentered the house, and informed me that the septic tank had indeed backed up onto the lawn. I checked the microwave again, opened the door, closed it, and smacked its side. Finally I gave it a disapproving glare, and that kicked it into action. The display lit back up, the interior light flipped on, and it heated my food.

I spent the rest of the night devising ways to not pour water down the drain in spite of bath night. I gave the kids a quick rinse in the tub. I washed dishes over a dry spot in the yard. I followed the principle of “if it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.” At least I got the microwave back, even though I don’t know why it quit working or when it might go down again.