“We are going to walk the dog,” I said to my husband.
“Good! I’ll be able to take the sink apart and fix the drain without the dog in the way.”
I didn’t say it, but I thought it. Right now? Is this the time? It’s a holiday tomorrow. A plumbing project right before a holiday means we can’t call a plumber if it goes wrong.
We came back and it had gone wrong. I still didn’t say anything.
Oh well, we could brush our teeth in the kitchen sink. One day of a plugged-up sink, alright. We’ll get through the 4th of July and call for help on Saturday.
This is pandemic marriage. Let go of the things you CAN let go of. We’re all stuck in this together.
My holiday morning started nice and cozy, me and the cat, then my daughter and dog all joining in lazy activities.
But Chris woke with a mission. He would keep working on that sink. And that faraway look in his eye made me nervous.
This time I said something: “I don’t’ think this is a good idea. Is this how you want this holiday to go? It could go very wrong and you’re going to be frustrated no matter what.”
I said it.
But he had a mission.
Great. My holiday down the drain, because the drain wasn’t working.
Situation: Huge plug of my hair down the drain, and he had tried to snake it, but it went past the trap and deeper than he could reach.
We’d tried using our decrepit plunger in the sink, but it was good and stuck
Action plan: but Liquid plumber from the hardware store and a funnel to pour it in past the trap.
At least he took the daughter to the store and let me and the cat to pursue laziness.
Result: liquid plumber was added, and that didn’t clear things. But some time passed and
EUREKA!
He had bought a new plunger and that plunger in the sink was the key. Six Dollar plunger for the win!
This plunger had an adapter to work on smaller drains.
Neither of us were aware that plunger technology had made this significant advance. We know a lot, but that one had complete escaped us. For six bucks, this was a no special fancy thing.
I was braced for an expensive and time-wasting hassle. But the solution was waiting right there.
I know very little about plumbing. I do know a lot about remote collaboration and communication.
I knew, when this stay-at-home thing started, that it was waiting for everyone. It wasn’t painless, but it was there.
I’m proud of us for not blowing up and sticking to the point, getting work done. Things are working out.
Good for me for not losing my cool at my husband either. With a little patience and persistence, things got unstuck.