June 25, 2019
Yesterday I heard an alarm buzzing. I tracked it down to the upright freezer in the utility room. The temperature was high, and the food was defrosting. I moved what food I could to the refrigerator freezer. Too late in the day to call the appliance repair man. He will be here tomorrow.
Then I went outside to do some chores and discovered that the waterfall pump in the fish pond was silent. After working merrily for days it was no longer running. I tested the GFCI and it was working, so either the pump is clogged very badly or it has reached the end of its life.
Today on driving down the driveway I noted that a section of wire fence has been pulled loose from the board fence, and an upright board split, damage done by one of the delivery trucks yesterday.
One of my friends said today that I must have a black cloud hanging over my head, but over the past nine years since Bill’s death I have learned to take these domestic crises in my stride. They are vexing and take time and money to fix, but usually they are fixable. They really are not bad things, but problems to be solved.
The truly bad things happen to people and break our hearts.
You write so beautifully. I admire how you take these problems in stride and appreciate your putting them into perspective. I learned a lot from Carlos about how to solve problems of house & property, but I don’t like doing it. I also want to live up to the challenge of continuing to look after & enjoy the property where we spent the majority of our life together, raised our children, and where our grands now feel at home. I feel blessed in that.
Thank you, Becky. I feel much the same about my home; our kids were 5 & 7 when we moved in here, they grew up here, our son was married in our back yard, our daughter’s wedding reception was on our front hill, and Bill died in our bedroom. I love this place and do my best to maintain it, but sometimes it is a struggle, especially when bad stuff piles on. I have to remind myself that most things are fixable and not flop down in a pity party. Best wishes to you in facing your challenges!