What is it with me and plumbing fixtures? My first plumbing disaster months ago was with a toilet. In an effort to clear calcium deposit in the outlet, I tapped with a hammer; a piece broke off. Oops!
Recently, I did it again. I had a go at fixing a water flow problem in the bathroom sink. Those with hard water know what I’m talking about. That build-up in the aerator that slows water to a trickle. Not an expensive fix if I had a few extra aerators and just replaced it! But oh no! I sprayed vinegar around it and use pliers to remove. I put the cruddy aerator in a saucer and with a sprinkle of soda and a vinegar spritz. The white hardened deposit flaked right off. All good! Then my mistake. I used pliers to tighten the aerator once I put it back on the faucet. In turning it with the pliers, I applied too much pressure and broke a plastic piece inside the faucet. I didn’t learn until a plumber visited that there even was a plastic piece inside the faucet.
Initially, when turning on the tap, water was flowing just fine; then the unthinkable happened. It was escaping at the elbow and going directly onto the floor inside the sink cabinet. And there it was! My OMG what I have I done moment. I immediately turned off the water. Point of access shut-offs are critical!
I called my good and faithful plumber and his associate booked an appointment. They have been insanely busy and I appreciated that they did their best to accommodate me. You don’t realize how much you miss a bathroom sink until you don’t have access to it. Points to ponder.
When the plumber and his apprentice came to remedy the problem, they could have pointed and laughed, given ‘the thing’ with the toilet bowl, but they didn’t. After their inspection under the sink, I was vindicated.
They discovered that the plumbing pipes inside the cabinet were not aligned so, over time, they simply shifted. That was not my fault! When I leaned onto the bowl to put the aerator back on, that was just enough to push on the pipes to allow water escape. The primary culprit, truth be told, was the person who installed the pipes in the first place. That’s on him. I relied on him to ensure a quality install; clearly, I didn’t get what I paid for. Moaning about it would do me no good in the current circumstance.
The bathroom fiascos turned out to be life lessons. Costly ones, certainly, but within them I leaned a few things. Notably, that I shouldn’t do a job for which I am not trained
The same is true in our daily lives. For so many, COVID confinement has put into the closet the ‘better angels’ with whom we walk. Tempers flare at the least little thing. Families become divided over beliefs about vaccines. Mild irritation goes from a simmer to a boil with anger reaching the point where husbands and wives, brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles are so fractured they see no way back. The screaming, the yelling, then the walking away, with declarations they’re not looking back. Friends are falling away from social groups, often in self-preservation. Take a breath everyone! Like the plumber had tools to fix my toilet and sink, we have tools to fix relationships — if we want to.
In this age of technology, the one sided approach may be a first step. Write a letter — put pen to paper. It’s more personal than an email and taking the time to write and mail a letter illustrates that you’re willing to take a step forward. Then wait. I’m of the belief that anything is possible. If the door to reconciliation is opened with a reply in kind, a call or email, take the win. Reach out and talk.
Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese and Mr. Malcolm, the boisterous Havanese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca
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