Someone is having fun with me

We are getting ready for a wonderful three week vacation to Cuernavaca, Mexico.  We are doing a home exchange with a family of four who have a home there.  Their place is huge, has a swimming pool and a trampoline, and we are going to have loads of fun.

But then there is getting ready.  We really want the place to work well for our guests, and in the past things have happened that were no fun, like the sink clogging up.  And I guess Someone Out There is having a little fun, because in the weeks before leaving, we've had one thing come up after another, and for each one, I am so glad that it didn't happen to our guests:

• Our sprinkler system got cracked and required a complete overhaul (yes, I did this myself, many trips to the hardware store for pipes and valves and glue and mud and getting sprayed in the face and...) 

• Our car battery ran out of steam and we kept having to get jumped (we're doing a car exchange too), so the car is at the shop today getting its battery replaced

• The day before we were going to get its wings clipped,one of our cockatiels escaped and flew up into a neighbor's tree and wouldn't come down.  We drove out there with the bird cage and the other bird, treats and a pillowcase.  No luck, and this morning we had to try again. This time it was in another tree, and we finally coaxed it down with a millet stick (his favorite treat).  We were very lucky.  We lost our first cockatiel for good this way (these two are from an animal shelter). 

• We had mice and rats in our garage and our food was being raided.  Took two weeks to get rid of them, I'll spare you the details 

• At 4:30 am two nights ago I awoke to a roaring sound.  I stumbled downstairs to the kitchen and walked into a pool of water that spread from under the kitchen sink and all the way into the living room.  The ominous roar came from under the sink, and taking a deep breath I opened it and water was spraying everywhere.  Of course, the shutoff valve was at the back of the opening, so I dove in and spluttering and being smacked by water I got it shut off.  Nice way to start your day... Linda and I spent the rest of the morning into lunchtime cleaning up and replacing the water filter, which at that moment had decided to give up the ghost in a dramatic way.

Can you imagine any of that happening to our guests while we were away?  Or worse yet (with the water thing) happening when we had no guests?  So as crazy as it's been, I actually feel blessed that all these things happened now, instead of later.