The Queen Has Her Throne Once Again

In our culture, buckets are referenced many ways. Five gallon buckets are a common scene. Many times they are carriers for paint, other fluids such as water, and they even carry solids, often in the form of dirt or grains. Some common phrases about buckets are 'to kick the bucket', 'its pouring buckets', and 'a drop in the bucket'. Another thing that people think of almost instantly is a 'honey bucket'.
I would be very surprised to find anyone who did not understand what the reference to a 'honey bucket' implied. But for those who don't know, a 'honey bucket' is a portable toilet. Many won't use a porta-potty unless they are camping. And even then, the direst of situations usually is all that will convince them to use one.
What would you do if you had no toilet? How long would you last in your home when your bathroom has virtually zero working appliances?
My home has undergone a major home improvement. This all began on October 17th. The demolition began that night. Then the next day the real heavy work began. Gutted, the bathroom was bare. We removed the toilet, sink and tub. A new tub was installed the first weekend. But that still left us with out a toilet and sink. And really not able to use the tub except for Saturday the 18th night. Now what would you do for a potty?

My answer- five gallon bucket.

My husband's job called him away the Wednesday after the work began on my bathroom. This was no short trip either. He was slated to be gone for almost three weeks. (In fact, as I write this he is still away.) This left me, pregnant and nauseous (often throwing up multiple times a day) to deal and handle the work on my bathroom. Now, don't get me wrong, I personally did practically no physical work on the renovation efforts. But the stress was present all the same. Decisions had to be made regarding this such as what to do about a plumbing issue. Or how to fix the issue of 'fur'ing out the wall to meet the tub. I have no experience in this category. So when things went wrong, it was all I could do to not just loose it.
Now the work that had to be done on our bathroom with Chad away was tiling the floor, counter and the tub/shower walls. Granted we had a guy from church we hired to do it, that had its own set of problems. He did 'cut some corners' to save us money. Which honestly, just do it right and I won't mind paying you the extra was my feelings. It's technically just rent money so it doesn't effect my lifestyle persay. He did do a wonderful job tiling. I love it. There are some quirks but I trusted him to be in my home while I was by myself and even while I was away, so what do you do? Live with it right?
Let me remind you, this whole time, I am peeing and pooing in a bucket placed in my garage. My nauseous tummy was relived in my kitchen sink. Surprising to many, the bucket didn't bother me as much as the sink did. I hated puking in the sink because if there were chunks I then had to clean out my sink which usually made me throw up again. Vicious cycle I tell you what.


The light in shining on my home tonight though. My loving father came by this even and installed my 'porceline throne'. I am on my way to being civilized once again. I installed the shower head this evening and placed a new shower rod with my new curtain on it. I placed a rug on the floor. Its beginning to look like a bathroom again. One that is functional as such at least.
There are still things to be done though. I need to go buy something to hide the half inch gap in the drywall and hardibacker board, base boards, trim for the door frames. The walls need to be sanded in some areas and retextured. A new coat of paint is definetly on the list. I need to clean out the vanity cupboard from all the dust and water on it. Its gross. The water shut off valve flange under the vanity needs to be snipped off so I can put a new one one. The old one is stuck otherwise it would normally just pull off. The door frames also need to be reinstalled.
And that is just the work in the bathroom. My whole home has exploded from the dust and chaos. I need to vacuum and shampoo the carpets. Its more than I can stand. It will be nice to have my hall and living room empty of the extra stuff. One bathroom remodel turned into a house of disaster.

But the end is near. Chad comes home on Sunday. I am eight weeks pregnant. Life is hard, but would you want it to be otherwise? A friend of mine used to quote to me something to the effect of 'Everything will work out in the end. And if everything is not alright, its not the end'. That is comforting to think on. The Lord has a plan, though we may be miserable, we always learn something from it. We grow from struggle and that's why we're here. Hold your head high while you walk through life, its humbling to know you don't have to pee in a bucket.