The Blue Dye Crisis - 2016

Have you ever been doing something, and, as if in slow motion, you see the whole thing go horribly awry??  Picture if you will, a peaceful Saturday evening, a bottle of permanent blue hair dye and a white kitchen floor.  Let that picture formulate for a few seconds before I tell my story.

First off, for those of you who KNOW me (not just read my blog from afar), you'll see that this was a real live Christmas miracle in the making.   For those of you who read my blog, but have never spent actual time with me, I'll give you some background.

1.  I may be a bit OCD.  I like my house clean, and I like things tidy and orderly.  I don't like messes.
2.  I can be a bit of a control freak, because in controlling my surroundings, it helps me keep the beast inside calm and serene.
3.  When #2 above fails, I can quickly go into a full blown rage (I kid you not), ahem.

So yeah, there I am all calm and quiet preparing to touch up the faded blue in my daughter's hair.  I've done this before.  I've made sure the floor where we are working is covered, because the box CLEARLY states that the dye will stain floors, counters, clothing, etc.

Now, I don't have carpal tunnel, nor do I have hand tremors or any other issue with my hands.  Imagine my surprise, as I'm using the squirt bottle to add the ELECTRIC BLUE dye to Olivia's hair, when suddenly, for some unknown reason, the bottle goes flying out of my hand and ACROSS the kitchen; and in doing so, somehow creates not one, not two but THREE semi-circles of electric blue hair dye across my white floor and up the side of the grey wall of my kitchen.

It was at this point that the Lord Himself must have intervened as I stood there, slack jaw and agape looking at what we have since dubbed "the incident".   Had the dye been red, it truly would have looked like a CSI crime scene.   I didn't lose my temper...not even a wee little bit.   I'm telling you folks, it's the 2016 Christmas Miracle, and I'm not EVEN kidding.

I called for backup from child #2, asking for paper towels, then bleach, then more paper towels.  I was left with blue stained flooring, from one side of the kitchen to the other.  No throw rug could cover this area.  (I didn't even think to take a photo!)

I stood there looking at the floor blankly, at a total loss of what to do, when a scripture flashed across my mind.   If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally, and reproaches not; and it shall be given him.  James 1:5 

At this point the kids are both just looking at me, probably waiting for the volcano to erupt.  So I said out loud "God, you said to ask for wisdom..and I don't know what to do.  What will take this stain out of my flooring?"    Just as quickly as the scripture reference had crossed my mind seconds before, the answer came.   A brillo pad and warm water.

I sat down in the middle of the floor with a brillo pad and a bowl of warm water and began to go in little circles.   As I scrubbed, the stain began to lift, and as the stain lifted I started thanking God, out loud for His wisdom.   Now, whether a brillo pad really will take a stain up, or if this was Divine Intervention, I don't know, but 90 minutes later my floor is again white, with the exception of one small, light gray smudge.

Now, go back and read the part about the bottle flying across the room, and laugh a good hard belly laugh as you envision it.  I can't image what it would have looked like had it been caught on camera, but I'd bet in slow motion it would have been a youtube hit!