Something We Don't Appreciate

 


    We were having wonderful time on New Year's Eve. C made the best steak bites he'd ever made. The new cheeseball recipe I'd made was really good. The chip dip mix I made was also tasty. We watched the movie 'Conclave' and had just finished the movie 'Grease'. (The original one with Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta.) I decided it was time to clean the litterbox before we broke out the sparkling juice for a toast.

    I turned on the light and walked into the laundry room where the litterboxes are. I noticed a large puddle of water around the hot water heater, furnace pedestal and a corner of the room. I walked out again and told C. The good time we were having came to a grinding halt. The water heater had leaked before, but not this bad. We we planning to purchase another one, but were holding off until after the first of the year. C checked around the hot water heater carefully. When he didn't see anything coming from the bottom of the heater he checked the top. Sure enough, something was leaking. It must have been leaking for awhile as there was water streaks on the wall. It somehow wasn't noticeable as the water heater was mostly in front of it. It was also a slow leak. 

    I wasn't sure how the puddle got so large. There was no puddle on the floor the night before when we went to clean the litter boxes. We were both worried that we would need to call a plumber on a holiday. C began to search the internet looking for things he could do. At midnight we clinked glasses and went to bed. 

    The next morning, C contacted a few guys he knew to ask for advice. One of the things they told him to do was shut off the water going into the water heater. That would mean we would have no hot water until it was repaired. We decided that we would both take a shower before turning the hot water off. We would be able to handle having cold water for the day. We could heat water on the stove to use for washing dishes. 

    I worried about how long this would go on. A day or so without hot water was doable, but I was working for several day after New Years and would need to shower. I wasn't excited about it being a cold one. Our son-in-law came over and to look at the leak and to help C get the water shut off. They determined that fixing the leak would solve the problem. Then we could shop for a water heater. We ate our dinner. I heated a pot of water on the stove for the dishes. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I filled one of our larger pots with water and left it on the stove. Until things were fixed, I thought it would be good to have a pan ready to heat in case we needed it. 

    The day after New Year's day, I went to work. We were so busy that I didn't have time to worry about the leak or the water heater. When I got home from work, our son-in-law was hard at work. He was still working when I wen to bed. A few hours later, C woke me to tell me that the repair had been successful and the hot water was back on. When I checked the next morning, the corner was mostly dry with a few damp spots.

    I was pleased with how we handled the emergency. It helped that C had lived in houses without hot water  (or indoor plumbing for that matter). He was not worried. Except the the thought of cold showers, I wasn't that worried either. 

    One thing that did happed is that I gained an appreciation for the water heater. Most of the time I turn on the hot water and don't think about it. I think most of us do. We take certain things for granted until something happens. 

    I believe that you shouldn't leave certain experiences in life empty handed. Our emergency was of relatively short duration and manageable. We have learned not to ignore certain things that happen with the physical plant in out house. We also learned that we can manage and improvise in emergencies like this. We were reminded to appreciate all we have, including out hot water heater.

    

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