Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Tie Game, Bottom of the Ninth, Full Count, Two Outs, and There's the Pitch...CRACK!

I fixed the washing machine by watching a YouTube video on how to replace the rubber boot. Our leaking machine stopped leaking in a matter of 2 hours; the guy on the video did it in 12 minutes but that is beside the point.  The dryer now that is a different story; our dryer had been squeaking for at least 6 months and finally I went to restart it after adding a few things and it wouldn't go back on.   I assumed this was the poorly neglected belt and rollers but after two evenings of solid dryer-cursing work and an annoyingly sub-par YouTube video my husband and I had it back together only for it not to work again.  It needed a new motor which I, of course, ordered from Amazon.  My father, brother-in-law, and husband spent an few hours putting it all back together after my dad made a part that they lost in the rush to dismantle it.  My husband later told me he just knew it was never going back together when they looked for the part for 30 minutes and couldn't find it and he was shocked when my dad fashioned a new one out of random parts in the garage.  Honestly, I never had a single doubt.  
You are saying to yourself, why don't you just hire someone to fix it?  You see, it is not in my genetic code.  My entire life I do not recall anyone ever in my house to fix something that was broken.  My dad did it all plumbing, electrical, automotive, tile, and dry wall.  We returned from vacation one summer to a flooded house.  My parents used the insurance money and bought new furniture, repainted and did some long overdue upgrades because we were going to tile the house ourselves.  Five kids = a lot of free labor.  My four siblings, I, and my parents tiled our entire house except the bedrooms.  This is not a joke.  To this day if you asked me to tile something, I bet money I could do it and do a great job.  I might have a little trouble with the tile saw and mitering the corners, but nothing a little practice wouldn't help.  I have gotten into the bad habit of thinking I am one YouTube video away from replacing the roof and building a coffee table out of an old palette.  I am mistaken; I need help and lots of it.  I need a village.

My parents have saved me thousands in mechanic, house hold repair, babysitting fees over the years and I want to give back.  I joked with my mom that their lives are a series of doctor appointments and watching movies or reading books with bursts of watching grandchildren so I can have a few kid free cocktails.  Sadly she agreed that this was not too far from the truth.  The biggest problem with making life easier for my parents is that it takes time to do it.  What is the one thing I am short on?  Time.   
Spring Training fun!
(Admittedly SH3 is not thrilled in this pic but she loved it)
We finished our 3 games spring training series.  It was magical.  We ended with a game watching the LA Dodgers vs. AZ Diamondbacks.  When I was younger, I still remember the announcer's voice as he called the game on the radio in the backyard by the pool on Sunday afternoons with advertisements for Jimmy Dean Sausage.  Ever since the Dodgers started their spring training in Phoenix, it is something special I try to do for an early Father's Day present for my dad every year.  We all get decked out in Dodger fan gear and sit spitting distance from the greatest baseball team on earth.  All I could hope is that my kids remember these moments of playful banter between my SH1 and his PaPa about how the Diamondbacks are winning as SH1 drinks a gallon of lemonade that PaPa bought him.  SH2 begging for a snow cone after the bag of kettle corn she ate left her parched.  My mom busily applying sunscreen to anything that moves and replacing hats on sweaty heads.  That game left my Dad exhausted and happy; I could see it on his face.  I want them to move closer to us.  I want them to not worry so much about bills and insurance.  I want them to have home cooked meals every night like I used to have.  I want their lives to be easier.  I want to worry about them less.  I want them to come over and play with the grandkids when they feel like it and not because I need them too.  I want more time with them.  Time.

I previously wrote  about some terrible and wonderful events that happened to my family and how they impacted our lives then and still do to this day.  The weight of having little ones, working to care for other people's loved ones, and then caring for my own is fairly heavy.  I have an awesome husband, family, friends, and God to help me. I continue to fear that some huge event will rock my world and force me to make time, shift things around, and re-label all my priorities again; I want to stay ahead of the game.  I admit that the most exciting games are won or lost in the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, and the score is tied.  I am not looking for exciting seconds; I want peaceful years and years.  I want time.

2 comments:

  1. I love this one. My favorite so far. I want them to live near us too. We are all probably talking to them about it every time we see them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh Roo, my sweet, sweet baby. I LOVE you!

    ReplyDelete