Fixing Things...

We upgraded our master bathroom this summer from what I would call "dorm room chic" to something more along the lines of "grown up." No whirpool - no tub - no sauna - but the shower is new and modern and I like it.

This week, not 10 weeks since it was installed, the shower would only produce cold water. This brought to mind images of taking down the tile wall to get at the plumbing and paying thousands of dollars to re-do and/or repair the entire thing. Not great images.

Normally, even without discussing it, the understanding would be that the shower was my partner's to deal with. She is good with contractors, plumbers and electricians and I am perfectly happy to let her handle those "Ms. Fix It" items as they come up.

But this week, while I was standing near - but not quite in - the cold shower, I noticed that a valve cover was loose. This was new. With a bit of curiosity, I opened the cover, revealing a fairly straightforward screw.

Hmmm.... I was tempted. What would happen if I unscrewed the screw? Is their electricity invovlved with the shower pump? (yes, I asked myself this) Will I make everything worse? Will water come shooting out of the pipe?

In an unusual, and somewhat unfamiliar, boost of confidence I decided to unscrew the screw, separating some valve components and revealing some non-descript movable parts. So far, so good: no water was pouring from the pipe; I lived to tell the tale.

Now what? Figuring I had not much to lose, I moved some of those non-descript movable parts in no particular direction, screwed the thing back together and turned on the water. (I did all of this quickly, figuring I had about 30 seconds before the plumbing would all fall apart in some disastrous way that I wouldn't be abele to fix.)

And there was hot water. Yes, Hot water. I fixed the shower. The sense of accomplishment with this is overwhelming - not becuase it was hard to do (because it wasn't) but because I had the courage to try. I had an idea, and I acted on it. I was a willing to take a risk.

In some ways, its a tangible example of growth that I know I am experiencing, but can't quantify and have no good way of evaluating. I am doing okay as a substitute teacher, for example, but there are no road marks to let me know how well I am doing or what mistakes I am making. One does not get immediate results from substituting or exercising or anything that I am doing right now.

So when that shower poured out hot water and I had clearly succeeded in an unfamiliar task, I latched onto the feeling of success like an omen. I am learning. I am getting stronger. I am embracing new experiences. And it is good.