Since we had to do some plumbing work to add the washing machine and sink in the laundry room we had to expand the existing hole in the cement floor. This hole contained the run off pipes for the house. It was covered by a wooden board which we had put some furniture on top of. Out of sight, out of mind. The “hole” will be hidden within the kids toy closet with a latch to lift it open. 

For now, it is a wide gaping hole, and for anyone with little kids you know what this means. 

Every time we walk down to the basement to take a look after the workers are gone for the day it is the first place my boys go. They are 5 and 3, and I swear that hole has a magnetic pull. They make a beeline for the hole and just stand over it looking down. I’ve caught my 5 year old picking up a scrap of who-knows-what and throwing it in. 

I’m walking around looking at the doors, the windows, the moldings, the lights. They are at the hole peering in. I can just imagine what stories they are conjuring up in their heads about it. I decided to ask them what it was, expecting to hear it goes to the moon, to Australia, to a dinosaurs house, etc. 

I asked my five year old where it goes and was told very matter-of-factly, “to the toilet”. Smart boy.