There is a saying that goes, “Things come in Threes.” The idea seems to derive from the Latin phrase, "Omne trium perfectum” (Everything that comes in threes is perfect, or every set of three is complete.) Generally people refer to bad things happening in Threes. The same can be said for good things, but we tend to chuckle more at the misfortunes. As we all have inevitably been spending more time at home these past 7 weeks, we have been giving our appliances, fixtures and furniture a work out! It is probably not surprising that a number of items that we generally take for granted, suddenly have broken down on us. I call these unfortunate happenings, “Daily Disasters.” I have a friend that has said it feels like the Plagues of Egypt- she is waiting for the locusts to come next! (I hope not! I am enjoying the flowers and blooming vegetation!)
For me, these Daily Disasters started back in January when our Hot Water Heater died. Funny how you purchase a hot water heater based on how many years you want to warranty it. We had a 7yr warranty that expired in November of 2019. I guess we got lucky that we got 2 additional months! But amazing that almost to the day- that is when it failed! Thankfully we had just returned from a trip and were home to prevent a true disaster of a flood! We had already started the habit of turning off the hot water when we traveled in anticipation of this potential disaster!
Not long after that, I had noticed that the washing machine was making a funny noise. My husband and I also noticed that the basket or agitator was kind of slipping, not really spinning or turning as it should. It is the washer that was in the house when we bought it in 1997. And I bet that the washer was in service at least 10yrs before we moved in! It was an old Kenmore, a work horse. We went to the appliance store right as the COVID concerns and shut downs were starting- we were not sure if we could get a delivery- everyone was in a panic and also a state of not knowing what was going to happen from one day to the next. We were lucky to schedule a quick purchase and delivery on the next available opportunity.
Our third disaster could have caused bodily injury! We have a set of pull down stairs to get into our attic. They are also the original stairs in the home and were a bit rickety. One day last week my husband pulled them down to take some winter items up for storage, and as he pulled them down, he heard the usual stretching sounds of the springs that hold the door closed, but this time it was followed by a large snap! One of the old metal springs let loose and like a rubber band-snapped and just missed hitting him in the head and of course, dangerously close to his eye! Thank God Home Depot is considered an essential business as we were able to get them replaced!
We certainly hope these three incidents will complete the perfection of Three’s and are the end of our Daily Disasters! We have minor daily inconveniences that we are used to by now such as intermittent WiFi and dropped calls, but that is not as bad as having the TV die while you are trying to work from home and your kids don’t understand why you can’t get a delivery! Do you have any stories of home bound misfortune or adventure that you want to share? As we are all in this together, we can all generally relate. It is good to keep in touch and know that our experiences are universal. Feel free to reach out and share a story or a challenge that you are facing. I enjoy hearing from you all. We are all looking forward to the time when we can get together again and share our joys in person- within 6ft.
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