Deep Breaths. Deep Cleansing Breaths.

You know how you start something that you think will be small and it begins too snowball into a really scary disaster? Case in point:

my basement.

I thought-hey it's nothing-they'll yank out the paneling, I'll get the cracks filled, and go on my merry way. Now we're up to:

Paneling gone

Garbage guy coming Monday to haul away mountain of Barney

Plumber needs to come to cap off the gas line from the old heater

Alarm guy might need to come to fix broken alarm box, unless Valeri (paneling removal guy) can fix it

Asbestos guy coming on Thursday to remove the asbestos on the pipes and ALL THE TILES. It's a FREAKING NIGHTMARE down there. The asbestos is REALLY BAD. I want to cry.

Crack guys not coming until mid-October-unless I change my mind and have Valeri's guy who used to work at the same company I'm hiring do it for half the price but minus the warranty. He can do it on Sunday. But I do not think it's a good plan. I want a warranty. Right? Or should I just say screw it I'd rather pay $750 than $1400 and just not finish the basement for a while (well I'm not anyway) and wait and see what happens. Opinions please!

I'm trying not to have a nervous breakdown. It's only money (or in our case, debt), right?

I'm looking for perspective. A couple from Chicago (they now live in St. Louis) just got the news that their son, who is only 5, who has been in and out of treatment for cancer since he was about 2, now has Stage 4 metastasized cancer. Read about it here. Pray for Reuven ben Tova Chaya. So really, I need to get a grip here. It's my basement. That's all. It will get fixed and dealt with. In the greater scheme of things...