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Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2005. Mattie was three years old. That day we were walking to the George Washington University to attend their annual community Halloween party. Several of my students coordinated this event each year, and they were kind enough to invite Mattie. These were special and memorable moments.
Quote of the day: A single heartbreak teaches you more than what a lifetime of schooling can. ~ Vineet Raj Kapoor
Today was another winner. I got up at 5:30am because our electrician was coming at 8am. I wish I could say I had electrical or engineering skills. I do not! Could I potentially figure things out watching videos? Maybe, but I just don't have the time, energy, or capacity to take this on. I have been dealing with outside lights that haven't been working for over a month. I was tinkering with them and tried to get them to work, but eventually my efforts were futile. Peter installed most of these lights and if he were around, he could easily fix the issues. Now that I am on my own, I am left to figure out things for myself. It is truly a daunting proposition. Especially when I have had Peter by my side for 35 years.
In any case, Bob, my electrician, has been servicing this house since we moved into it in 2021. He and my plumber know the infrastructure of the house better than me. Bob explained that with the company he works for the cost for changing and fixing each outside light feature would be $250. Since I had 11 lights, you can do the math. Because of our long standing history and the fact that I am balancing the impossible, Bob gave me a significant price break. Which is why I approved the work today and moved forward with the lights. Do note that I ordered the lights myself, as it was more cost effective that way. However, Bob was unable to fix the lights in our backyard. Clearly a wire may have been cut and trying to trace out which wire was affected would have taken hours. So we paused on that project.
Then I got a call from our appliance repairman, Bruce. Bruce has also worked on appliances in our kitchen since 2021. Any case, I have a freezer that isn't making ice cubes, but instead sheets of ice. We thought changing the water filter would solve the problem.... it didn't! So now this will mean another trip out to diagnosis the situation and I am preparing for a larger issue. Bruce was also unable to fix the range, as it requires a whole new part. When he told me the price of that part, I was ready to set fire to the range, or jump out the window.
Overall, during both visits what immediately came to my mind is I lost my husband. Bob was telling me the story of his wife. She is a home maker and at times feels badly because she isn't bringing in an income. Bob says rightfully so that she does work! That managing the house, him, the dog, cats, and caring for older family members is not just a full time job, but many full time jobs wrapped up into one. He spoke so respectfully and lovingly about his wife, which was nice to experience. This is how I imagined Peter felt about me throughout our marriage, until he didn't.
Bruce also told me about his wife. She is in her 60s and compete in regattas! We got into a conversation about ice cubes and ice consumption at which point he asked me if my husband uses a lot of ice on a daily basis. Remember that Bruce met Peter, and knows me as a married woman. I skirted around the issue but once again, like after losing Mattie, I am faced with a massive identity crisis. Yet another one NOT OF my making or CHOICE.
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