Houston We Have a Problem

Friday afternoon at approximately 3:30 I got a text from Middle Child.

"The picture you will receive is of a broken window." because he knows pictures take much longer to send and receive than a regular text.

What? I texted back, "Which window?"

"The one by the front door." Not the Front Window or the Big Window (because it is a huge window) or anything like that.

So then I got worried and decided to call because texting is pointless for some issues.

Me: "Which window is broken?"

MC: "The one by the front window."

Me: "How did it break?"

MC: "I opened it to talk to Baby and then I closed it and when I turned around I heard something fall and hit the ground. Then I turned back around and it was on the floor."

Me: incredulously "The window just broke like that?"

MC: "Yeah."

Me: trying to breathe slowly "So, is the glass broken or did the window just fall out?" We have slider windows which can be pulled out to wash.

MC: "The lock fell off."

Me: "The lock fell off?"

MC: "Yes."

Me: "So is the window broken?"

MC: "Yes."

Me: "But is the glass broken?"

MC: "No."

Me: "So the window isn't broken."

MC: "Yes, the window's broken."

Me: "The glass is broken?"

MC: "No."

Me: "So is just the lock broken?"

MC: "Yes, but the window's broken."

Me: "But you said the glass isn't broken."

MC: "No, the glass isn't broken."

Me: "So did the window fall out but the glass didn't break?" Trying to get my brain around exactly how the window is broken.

MC: "No, the window didn't fall out."

Me: "Is the window still in the right place?"

MC: "Yes."

Me: "So, is just the lock broken?"

MC: "Yes, the lock's broken."

Me: "So, the window isn't broken, just the lock is broken."

MC: "Yeah, that's it."

Come in Houston! We have confirmation! I don't know if all preteens are this difficult to talk to but it was like pulling teeth to find out exactly what happened. This kid could be Laurel and Hardy all by himself sometimes.

About five minutes after our conversation ended the picture finally came through. And sure enough, if I had seen that first, there would have been no question about the condition of the window.

While I was ecstatic the window wasn't broken and letting in mass amounts of 24 degree air, I was kind of disappointed I didn't have a good excuse to go home early.