I thought it was a gunshot!
By Marie Coyle
@MarieCoyle (38799)
June 12, 2024 5:33pm CST
Yes, it was that dramatic.
This morning, I made a gallon of fresh lemonade. My son helped, he thought it sounded good on a hot day, and it was. I put it in 2 containers, half a gallon in each one. I was sitting on the couch, going through some papers that often seems to be never-ending. He was in the kitchen, getting a drink.
I had put the lemonade in 2 glass pitchers that have tight lids, because a gallon is so heavy. The first one had only had 2 glasses poured out of it. My son's hands somehow slipped on the container, and it hit the edge of the counter, and then the floor. It shattered and there was glass and lemonade literally everywhere! It sounded just like a gunshot, I swear!
Such a huge, huge mess! How do you even begin to clean up hundreds of glass shards and bits and pieces, mixed with a large amount of sticky liquid?? Plus, of course it splashed on the wall, the cabinets, etc. when it broke. I was worried about tiny glass shards, and my son loves going barefoot, so I immediately got him out of there to go change and put on socks and shoes. Paper towels, many rags, a broom, a mop, again the second time. Then even though we didn't see any more, we wiped everything down one more time, including the floor.
He felt so, so badly. No, I didn't yell about it, that's just not me. What good does that do, anyway? The only shocked noise I made was when it exploded hitting the floor! Honestly, it sounded just like a gun! I felt so bad for him. He tries so hard.
Anyway, that was a huge mess. Sticky lemonade everywhere, mixed with little pieces of glass, ugh. That ranked right up there in my life as one of the biggest and stickiest messes I've ever had in my kitchen!
Have you ever had a sticky, horrendous mess that took forever to clean up?
Pixabay picture
I didn't have the heart to take one of the actual mess, he was so upset over breaking the pitcher.
21 people like this
18 responses
@snowy22315 (182344)
• United States
13 Jun
Probably not one that bad but close. My mother once dropped or spilled like a whole basket of canned pickles. It was such a s huge disaster, she actually cried.
4 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
13 Jun
Oh, my!! I think I would have cried buckets over all of that, a big loss.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (472087)
• Switzerland
14 Jun
@MarieCoyle I imagine that it's also very hard for you to bend. When there are tiny pieces of glass everywhere it is so difficult to clean.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
15 Jun
@LadyDuck
It's just my one leg that doesn't like to bend very well at all...it is difficult, yes. But we do what we have to do...well, you know that.
Yes, I was very fearful that I would miss a shard of glass somehow. We cleaned it over and over again, and I have found no other tiny pieces, so hopefully we got them all!
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
13 Jun
He hated it, he tried to help clean it up. Since he often loses his balance, I did the harder part that required all the bending and such, and he helped with the rest. I felt so badly for him.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (168420)
• Boise, Idaho
13 Jun
Oh, I bet he did. I have had a few messes. Stickiness is the worst. It seems like no matter how much you clean there's still a sticky spot.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (168420)
• Boise, Idaho
13 Jun
@MarieCoyle .......Yeah, those type of messes usually do.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
13 Jun
We evidently did a good job and went over it repeatedly, no sticky spots!! It too quite awhile to clean it up.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (71918)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
12 Jun
I can understand how he feels. George struggles and gets frusterated with himself when he needs me to do little things for him. Or, if we're in public, and we have to ask a stranger for help.He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't have to.
I don't know about messes, per se but I remember having some old cermaic plates we used a lot. I've dropped a few only for them to shatter on the floor. Our house is tile, so I won't be surprised if some shards are still under the t.v. and couch.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (71918)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
13 Jun
@MarieCoyle Who knew they could slide so far?
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
13 Jun
One of my homes in the past had ceramic tile in the kitchen, the kids dropped a few plates over the years and I remember them shattering all over.
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (104278)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
12 Jun
I had to clean up a mess when sauce fell into the ground at a pizza parlor many years ago.
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (104278)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
13 Jun
@MarieCoyle It was a huge mess that I had to clean up.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
13 Jun
@Deepizzaguy
One of the biggest messes I remember was my grandfather dropping a 50 pound bag of flour. It went literally everywhere, we swept for weeks and weeks! An unbelievable mess. That was many years ago.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
14 Jun
No one wants to make a mess like that, of course. Accidents happen, but wow was it ever a mess! Thank you.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
16 Jun
@grenery8
My latest escapade in injuring myself seems to be when I go outside and pull weeds in the garden. I always manage to find that one weed that stabs me somehow, and they aren't even big weeds!
2 people like this
@grenery8 (11174)
• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)
15 Jun
@MarieCoyle i bet it was. i am glad you didn't cut yourself; i cut myself almost every time. my fingers are full of small scars. welcome.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160996)
• United States
13 Jun
Everything glass that hits the floor in this house shatters. It seems to never get cleaned up. I do not recall any that bad. I know I had problems when my first husband was ill and we would mix a feeding solution with vitamins and I would spill it on already nasty kitchen carpet, but no glass was involved. I am so sorry this happened. Care taking is exhausting at its best without this extra work.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
14 Jun
The big thing about bad spills and messes--they just happen, we don't plan for them, and they have to be cleaned up. Plus, it seems to take forever. I used to watch the ex just come unglued and scream for hours if one of the kids spilled something by accident...and oh, they remember that, too. It's just an accident, they happen--but he made it so much worse with his screaming about it. Not me...I won't do that.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
13 Jun
He tried to help, he always tries. That's all that really matters, and that he wasn't hurt. Thank you!
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
14 Jun
It's all good, now--but it sure was a huge mess! Thank you.
2 people like this
@RasmaSandra (80847)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
13 Jun
So sorry for him I know how he felt especially with the lemonade spilling and the jug breaking, I remember two bad messes, One worse than the other, Way back when I live with my mom in NYC. The not so bad mess was when mom did not close up the pressure cooker right and the food had started cooking then the lid just exploded off, That was a hot mess we had to wait for it to cool but then it also stuck on things,. The worse mess was right on a Thanksgiving. Our apartment building has many Latvian senior folks who were mom's friends and I love making Thanksgiving for everyone, The turkey was in the oven, I was making other stuff and started opening a large tomato paste can, I popped in the opener edge and the tomato paste was not good and squirted out up to the ceiling and along the walls and with people coming it was no fun,
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
14 Jun
Oh, both of those must have been huge messes, for sure. And tomato paste on the ceiling...ugh! It seems we often see the biggest messes when we are having company!
2 people like this
@1creekgirl (41774)
• United States
13 Jun
Oh, bless his heart. And yours too!
I know that was awful to clean up, especially being sure to get all the glass. I'm sure he felt so bad, but accidents happen.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
13 Jun
Yes, they do happen. There is no sense getting all mad and upset about an accident. The main thing being, he wasn't cut. Thank you, Vicki.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
13 Jun
He felt so bad about it. I was just glad none of those shards had to be removed from his skin anywhere. He has enough health issues, he certainly doesn't need anymore.
2 people like this
@Courtlynn (67080)
• United States
13 Jun
I wouldn't have liked the sound of that, then. Scary.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
13 Jun
It made my heart jump. It was scary, but the main thing was that he wasn’t hurt.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (181931)
• United States
13 Jun
No, we've been lucky. Knock on wood. I'm sorry you had to clean up such a mess. Accidents happen unfortunately.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
13 Jun
He was so mad at himself. It was just a really messy accident. I told him that numerous times. Things happen, we get through them.
2 people like this
@popciclecold (39533)
• United States
13 Jun
That was a mess, I bet. But so glad you were kind to your son, accidents happen, and like you say what good would it have done. Good job.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
13 Jun
He is a good man that is trying so hard to be well. He tries to help, too. Harsh words don’t help when someone has an accident. Thank you.
1 person likes this
@much2say (56142)
• Los Angeles, California
20 Jun
Those glass accidents make me nervous as we don't wear shoes in the house. We clean it many times over, but it still makes me nervous. A couple weekends ago, Hubby dropped the coffee maker carafe - it's fairly thin glass so some of the shattered pieces were teeny. I didn't clean it up 
, but I know he took his time cleaning every bit of it and all the surrounding areas. I know, glass shattering can be quite dramatic!
, but I know he took his time cleaning every bit of it and all the surrounding areas. I know, glass shattering can be quite dramatic!1 person likes this
@much2say (56142)
• Los Angeles, California
23 Jun
@MarieCoyle I believe it! Sometimes I will find an itty bitty shard in a weird place weeks later 
.
.1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
21 Jun
It's truly amazing how far shattered glass can really fly, too. I went over the entire kitchen and found 2 pieces about 12 feet away from where it fell and broke. Dramatic is right!
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
23 Jun
@much2say
I have a feeling there might be a small piece under the stove. But moving it out is a project, I will wait until the maintenance guy comes to find out if any went under there. At least, we won't be stepping on it as long as it's not where we are walking.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (108301)
• Marion, Ohio
12 Jun
Glad he was not hurt by broken glass. I don't think I have had that much liquid on the floor.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
•
12 Jun
Biggest kitchen mess ever! A miracle that he wasn’t cut or full of tiny pieces of glass!
2 people like this
@JESSY3236 (20039)
• United States
18 Jun
Yeah I have spilt chocolate milk before it was a mess to clean up.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (38799)
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18 Jun
Anything sticky is always extra hard to clean up. But sometimes, accidents do happen.
1 person likes this
