When It Hits, Use Your Mouth

Marianne @ Their Words. My Musings. 23 Comments

Earlier this week my youngest commented there was a funny smell coming from the basement.  I thought it was just the bit of mustiness I had noticed myself, normal for at the end of winter and pre-spring cleaning time, especially without a window down there.  As I approached the stairs however, I did notice the smell had changed, wasn’t ‘normal’ at all anymore.  Down I went.

Barely got to into the basement and the smell overpowered me.  Turns out somehow the freezer had gotten unplugged and the food had badly, VERY BADLY, spoiled.  I won’t ruin your lunch or that tasty cinnamon bun you’re enjoying with your coffee right now and divulge any of the gory details.  You can thank me for that in the comments.  Or a simple “Like” button click works too.  Suffice it to say this truly was one of the most horrific experiences I’ve had to go through.

So now, let’s just jump right to the moral of my story …
 

When disaster strikes, when it feels like the world is caving in on you, when the proverbial shit hits the fan, breathe through your mouth.

 

Screw the majority of the research that supports nose-breathing is better for you.  Temporarily at least.  Sometimes just breathing at all is the best thing you can be focusing on doing for yourself, regardless of which body cavity you’re using.  Afterall, we’re only talking about a short period of time here, til the crisis wanes and you’ve gotten your grip on how to handle it.

I’m pretty sure I didn’t drastically increase my risk of sleep apnea or severely lower my body’s oxygen circulation in just the couple of hours it took to clean up the mess.  Breathing through my mouth made it possible for me to survive cleaning out the freezer and hauling out the spoiled food without puking.  That would have just created another mess to deal with and my vomit tends to smell like rotted food anyway so I’m not a fan of that either.  Plus, when confronted with a challenge in life, I’m a lot like old blue eyes.  I like to do things my way.

 

 

Postscript:

The above Instagram image is from Tory Burke.  I started following him (IG username:  ToryBurke34) and his brother Ian Simmons (IG username:  conflictstar) last year when I heard about a supercool project they were doing together.  They use their penmanship to put movie and song quotes to art.  You can read more in this article about them on The Daily Dot, including some more samples of their work and places you can find them on social media and online stores to buy their prints.  Or you can read more in a previous post I did about them.  That helps my stats so thanks for that.  Anyway, give them both a follow, your eyes will thank you for it.
 

Listen to music.  It could save your soul.  Be kind.  It could save someone’s world.  Wear a hat.  It could save your life.

 

23 thoughts on “When It Hits, Use Your Mouth”

  1. I agree with you, breathe through your mouth. The sense of smell can be a burden if there are odoriferous things to be dealt with, because things that stink are usually slimy and rotten, and the tactile sense can be enough to send one running to the porcelain throne WITHOUT smelling it too. My sympathies. One summer in the 1970s our little subdivision in Utah experienced a three day black out. I don’t know what went wrong, but we had no power for three days out there. My neighbors, thrifty people with seven kids, had a freezer FULL of meat and food; and on day #2 the father hosted a big neighborhood wide BBQ – said it was better than the meat spoiling…people might as well eat it. So we built a bon fire in the dirt field behind, someone got some old cinder blocks and they rigged up a sort of grill. There were steaks and ribs and cut up roasts, chickens and hot dogs and hamburger. The neighborhood dogs were in attendance too and got their fair share of the bounty. One thing I do know is that food, thawed and unused will become fragrant and then stink. I’m really sorry for your loss of edibles, but glad you posted this blog. It reminded me of a bright spot memory! 🙂 Thank you!

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  2. Last week when it hit (after days of power outage), I simply ignored it and went to bed only to wake up to hubby probably breathing through his mouth while cleaning up.

    When it hits, ignore it and try to sleep peacefully right through it or simply breathe through the mouth while handling the mess.

    Sorry about the spoilt food…shit happens thankfully, we have the options before us.

    I enjoyed reading this.

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    • Thanks Biola for the visit and the note. Sorry you too had to deal with lost food and a nasty mess and smell. Wish I had a hubby to do my cleanup for me, then maybe I coulda slept my way through it too haha!
      Thanks again, wishing you a kindness-filled kinda day … Marianne

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  3. We had a power outage for the neighborhood and somehow, we still had power on Main Street. We offered space in our chest freezer to the neighbors who were less fortunate. Five days later we returned the food. They all said keep what ever we wanted, but that did’ seem right. Worked out well for all.

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  8. Wise advice – unless of course you are a snake:)
    I had to read this post because of the title, then got drawn in with the way you built the tension before giving me a good laugh!
    Ain’t domestic disasters a bitch?!

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    • A bitch and some other choice words I could use but won’t to keep it family friendly haha! But alas, I am now well versed on internet tips on how to clean a freezer with rotted food in it. One more thing to add to my life resume I guess. 🙂
      Thanks for the visit and the note, wishing you a kindness-filled kinda day … Marianne

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  9. My office area is in what we refer to as our Annex, a converted garage with heat, running water, full bath and satellite TV. Our escape also when company arrives. We give up the house to steal away to the annex. We have a very nice queen sofa bed out there also. A fridg and freezer are located out there with some great beverages. A Microwave heats up snacks when needed.

    Two months ago I ventured out to do a little writing and was met by the same Nose Knows odor. Bad enough to gag a maggot they say. One hundred and fifty pounds of Venison, five pound link of Kielbasa, two Hams, several chickens, eight quarts of beef and chicken stock, and assorted packaged dinners all dripping fluids onto the floor.

    Were Bones to walk in, I’m sure those from the Jeffersonian would feel a crime may have been committed and samples taken. We also, after several hours of cleanup and air circulation, got the horrible odor under control. Several trips to outside air were necessary for gastric rehabilitation.

    With sympathy

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    • Oh my! My saga is nothing compared to yours! ‘Tis me who sends condolences. Guess these are life experiences we’ll never forget though eh?
      Sorry to hear of your freezer disaster. Thanks very much for the visit and the note though Rooster. Helps to know others know exactly how I felt. 🙂
      Wishing you a kindness-filled kinda day … Marianne

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