When it rains, it pours. This famous idiom presented itself upon my presence the other week. In very much a literal sense, I recently had an issue with an aging plumbing system in my home. If you’ve ever seen dominoes fall then you may understand.
It all started when my kitchen faucet sprayer decided to change they way it provided water. Offering water via the spray/stream mechanism morphed to include offering water via the hose itself. When the contraption managed to no longer offer water via the spray/stream mechanism, I decided to follow through with previous threats to replace the entire headache altogether.
Oh boy, did I open a can of worms with that?
After getting in contact with a plumber, I made arrangements to have the faucet system replaced. It seemed as if it would be an easy enough process. Turn off the water, unscrew this, unplug that and so forth.
When the plumber was unsuccessful at getting one of the water valves to shut off, he informed me he would have to halt the water flow to the entire small condo building. Again, we assumed this too would be an easy task. Turn off the water to the building, go back into the kitchen to unscrew this, unplug that and so forth.
Close, but no cigar. (Guess I’m full of them today)
Turns out, the mechanisms that connect the city’s water supply to my building were in bad shape. Years of disregarded corrosion took its toll. Now by this time, my timeline for a properly functioning sink has gone from about an hour to about a week.
The matter quickly escalated to an emergency status. If truth be told, in the event that pipes were to burst in any apartment in the building, there would be no way to cut the water supply to prevent further damages.
As I waited for my tides to shift, I was out of a kitchen-based water supply. My big ‘ol stock pot became my best friend allowing me to transport clean water for washing dishes by hand…by hand…by hand. For the record, I absolutely do not like hand washing dishes that I normally throw in my dishwasher.
In the meantime, the most exceptional plumbers were busy at work doing away with the old and bringing in the new. Pretty soon they were able to return to complete the request that started out simple but turned into a nuisance. The moral of today’s story is: old things need love too. Sometimes you have to work it out with the old, ugly things in order to prepare for the shiny, new things.
We’ve all been there. I’d love to hear about how you managed to overcome something unexpected and difficult. Comment below to share your thoughts, big or small!
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Kaptured by Keni Photography 