Based on true events...
"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!"
Despite their best efforts, the blaring tones coming from alarm clock on Leah's phone did little to rouse her from sleep. It was already seven in the morning, but as long as she hurried once she was up she would be able to sleep a little bit later. With that foggy thought in mind, she hit the snooze button and rolled back over and tried to doze off again.
After what felt like a few seconds, Leah felt a nudge on her shoulder. She gave a groggy, unintelligible noise in response.
"Leah, I need you to wake up." It was Dan. Something in her husband's voice let Leah know she should try to pay attention to what he was saying, but her desire for sleep didn't allow her to wake up completely.
"Honey, you're going to have a small panic attack when you see what Jackson did to the carpet, so I need you to wake up."
Being informed that you are sure to have a panic attack is not at all what someone want's to hear in the morning, but it is an effective way to wake them up. Upon hearing those words Leah shot up in bed and tried to prepare herself for all the possibilities that may be awaiting her. Jackson, her nine-month-old husky-mix, was generally a well-behaved dog, but he had his moments of rebellion. She shuddered to think what he could've done to make Dan wake her.
"Is Jax okay?" Leah asked.
"He's fine, but he made a real mess of the place last night."
"I thought he slept in his crate all night." Leah tried to put the pieces together as best as she could, wishing she had access to coffee at this moment. At least the caffeine would wake her up enough to help her make sense of the situation.
"He did. My guess is that he got to the carpet when we were in the other room and somehow we just missed the mess. He really did a number on it."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't want you to feel bad, because we're going to get it taken care of, but Jackson shredded part of the carpet by the door. There are pieces of carpet padding and fibers everywhere. But again, we're going to fix it and it's no big deal. Okay?"
Dan loosened the hug he had been holding Leah in just enough to catch her reaction. As he probably expected, a few quiet tears were making their way down Leah's face. This is why he wanted to make sure he could be around for her when she found out. Leah knew she had a tendency to overreact to things like this. All she could think of was how the money they had been saving for a down payment on their first home would have to be tapped into to fix the carpet. And because of her worst-case-scenario genes she couldn't help but imagine an estimate ending in way too many zeros. Their dreams for a house were just that much further away now.
After a moment of letting her process all of this, Dan spoke up again. "Leah, you shouldn't let this bother you. We have the funds to get the carpet fixed and if it sets us back a bit that's okay too. Don't let it be a big deal. Instead, let's be thankful that Jax didn't get sick from this."
Good advice from Dan, but probably premature. Leah still needed to step into the living room to assess the damage for herself. She sincerely hoped that the mess was less dramatic than what her imagination had been cooking up for her. Hesitantly, she made her way toward the entrance. What she saw next made her stomach drop.
Strewn out all over the living room floor was about two feet worth of carpet fibers and padding. It was a mess! And all of this done in the thirty minutes Jacskson was left unsupervised. The dog looked particularly pleased with himself as Leah stepped closer. This shredded section of carpeting might as well have been Jackson's life work; his masterpiece.
With half an hour on the clock and her husband halfway out the door, Leah got to work cleaning up the disaster.
So, what would you do if you were in Leah's shoes? Check in on Thursday to see what advice we had for her!