Oops

The instant it happened I panicked. I knew I was in big trouble and immediately began devising a lie that might get me off the hook. Sadly, there wouldn't be one believable enough to save me from the trouble I was in.

Back in the mid-sixties when life seemed simpler and women stayed at home to raise the family, my mother was forced to get a job to ease the financial yoke around my father's neck. They had settled on four children, 3 girls, and a boy and I, being the oldest, was forced to babysit my younger siblings while both parents worked. At the time, it seemed unfair to be stuck in the house every day after school. I would watch from my living room window as the neighborhood kids would gather in the street to play my favorite game of kickball. I so wished to be out there with them, but I didn't dare chance sneaking out knowing either sister might tell on me. I had tried that once before and learned my lesson the hard way.

I begrudgingly moved myself away from the window and decided to surprise my mother by doing what I thought was a good deed. As I walked into the kitchen, I remembered her saying before she had left for work the freezer needed to be defrosted but she would take care of it when she returned home. I thought I might as well make myself useful since I am stuck indoors. I opened the refrigerator door and noticed the ice was so thick that the freezer door could barely close. This, of course, was a time before frost-free technology was commonplace.

At twelve years old, I knew from watching my mother that the proper way to defrost a freezer was as simple as turning off the appliance to allow the built-up ice to melt, but instead, I had convinced myself I had devised a much better plan since there was no time for that slow process. I searched the utensil drawer for the sharpest knife I could find. I chuckled to myself believing I'd come up with a far more efficient way to get the job done. Best of all, I would finish in time for Mom's return from work. She'd be so proud.

"What 'cha doing?", one of my sisters asked, curiously observing my activity.

"Defrosting the freezer”, I snapped. "What does it look like?" She got the message and left me alone.

Busy poking and prodding, I used the palm of my hand on the butt of the knife’s handle to chisel the ice away. Wow! This is fun I thought, as piece-by-piece the ice separated from the surface. I happily carried chunks of ice over to the kitchen sink, watching as the steaming hot water melted the ice into oblivion.

I returned to the refrigerator to resume my attack. Mom would be so happy I’d thought and then it happened. I'd plunged the knife in too deep, and the sudden hiss of escaping air told me something had gone wrong. Not knowing precisely what the sound implied, I knew it meant trouble for me. This can’t be good. I later learned I had punctured the freezer wall, allowing Freon to leak out, permanently damaging the unit.

The reward I'd imagined my mother would bestow on me took the same route the Freon did. Vanished into thin air. My only accomplishment was placing my parents in the financial bind of replacing a perfectly good working appliance.

So much for trying to help. And as the saying goes, “No good deed goes unpunished” and punish me they did. For a month, on the days I didn’t have to babysit I was stuck in the house staring out the living room window watching as my friends played my favorite game of kickball.