There are moments when single parenting/house caring solo makes evident its gifts.
Today's gift: I fixed the shower/bathtub handle.
Big deal? you say. I think not. When things break around the house, it's overwhelming. I have to add rather than subtract from the already lengthy to do list. And I have to triage...what can I fix? what can't I? If I don't immediately know how to fix, can I learn. Outsourcing small repairs gets pricey fast. Moreover, I'm buoyed by my feminist sensibilities.
So, this week the shower handle broke. Argh. It landed in the "I can fix it" category. I removed the old handle and identified the source of the problem...the break in the plastic (this was easy). I took my handle to the hardware store to buy the right replacement. Came home to replace, and bummer...right size but wrong design. Back to hardware store to return.....they don't carry right design. Off to Lowe's. Brought in handle. Found right size and right design. Home again. Followed picture directions on back of package....installed upside down....removed...do over. Wa La. Fixed!
Yes, I felt a sense of accomplishment.
You might see a simple repair, but I see the results of being stretched. If I had a husband to fix these things (which sounds mighty good, I admit), I would not have to stretch myself. I would be able to focus on my own specialties in the house...like laundry and choosing color schemes (my feminist sensibilities are screaming). I would be able to defer to someone else's expertise. In short, I wouldn't be pushed to grow.
Taking care of a house alone is a bit like liberal education in this way. There are things I do not want to do, but they are required in the "general education curriculum" afforded by home ownership. Like the humanities undergraduate who doesn't believe they need to take math or science (that was me), I am forced to learn things beyond those that come easily. I have the opportunity to solve problems...that often at first seem unsolvable...that push me to identify and develop new methods, skills, and capacities.
I am thankful for my own liberal education....for pushing me to learn as the world learns, to enrich my capacity for problem-solving.
I am thankful too that my shower is fixed.
1 comment:
You might be the only person I know who would compare home ownership to general curriculum. It is one of the maany things I have come to apprecaite about you and your writing. I am so glad to hear that today you won the battle while growing yourself at the same time.
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