My heaters went out this week. All of them. Two wall heaters and the water heater. It made me realize how much I've grown up. I didn't call my dad to come help. He's too far away now. I managed to keep calm and call for repairs without getting emotional over the phone. I remembered that I know how to boil water on a stove for baths and that laundry doesn't have to be done with warm water. It was a conscious decision to let the dishes pile up and wait for hot water again. I do have some disposables to keep it under control. I am a grown up. Funny the things that make you realize it all over again.
It doesn't make it easier. The stress drove me out of the house yesterday. Sitting at home waiting for a phone call from the repair company is not my strong suit. Thanks to cell phones I don't have to. The emotional slump that hits with this kind of setback is real, and must be counteracted with Christmas music and baking. A particularly good idea since I'm heating the house with the oven right now anyway.
In the big picture this is good. Unsafe appliances are being fixed and most of the cost is still covered by our new home warranty. It would be a bummer to have our first year go by uneventfully and think we didn't need that warranty any longer, only to have a bad second year. Life is like that. Bad things can sometimes be good, and good things can feel like a major bummer.
Fortunately it will all be over within a week. Which only leads me to ponder, how blessed am I?!? I don't live in some dreadful part of the country where pipes freeze. I'm not dependent on a well anymore, so I don't have to worry about the pump going out and having no water at all. I have family close if I really needed to go somewhere to take a shower. I have electricity if I wanted to try bringing in a space heater. I'm stressing over the added strain to our budget as usual around the holidays, but I'm still richer than 99% of the global population. How odd those protesters are on Wall Street, railing against themselves. Okay, I'm feeling better now. I'm still gonna bake though, because my caramel corn is awesome!
