We are always asked to consider what is the meaning of life? What if it's just about the journey and growing along the way? We start out with no experience and only instinct and parental guidance to get us on our way. We learn through trial and error, gain experience and hopefully confidence to move on. The interesting thing is we all start off with varying levels of confidence, which can either be built higher and higher, or can hit a stumbling block and take longer to build. Some of us may never reach the level of confidence we should, whether it be a personality issue or experiences which leave us reeling inside, and not willing to try a similar experience again. Others rise above their past failures and soar with hard-earned confidence, ready to face the next challenge that comes to them.
We are at the beginning of a new year, and many of us reflect on the newly passed year to decide what is important to them in the coming year. Maybe we aren't quite at our ideal body weight, or maybe feeling a bit stiffer and older than we'd like to admit. I have been reflecting on my own personal growths, however tiny or insignificant they may seem. Time has taught me I may not always get what I want, but that it is still important to try at any rate. I am (still) learning that fear and inaction can stifle even one's best intentions if you let it prevail, or it can be surged through,and regardless of the outcome, a note of content can be found, in that at least you put in your dose of gumption to achieve something. A recent example from myself: We live in a decidedly winter climate. The week around Christmas saw temperatures dip below -20 at night. Our furnace obviously could be heard working harder, but gratefully, it kept going 24/7 in the extreme cold. Our water was working fine, so all seemed well, until I came home from work one afternoon to be informed by my youngest that the sink wasn't working. At first, I thought she meant the drain was plugged as this has been a concern occasionally over the years. This was quickly clarified to be a lack of running water. This had me flummoxed for a short time, as I thought our heat tape was fairly recent and there was a heavy bank of snow against the side of the house. Upon further reflection, I realized the most recent heat tape applied had to be at least 10 years old.
My immediate thought was, oh jeez, don't know what we're up against here--gonna have to hire a professional. This is a Friday, heading into a long weekend, no way do I want to even try calling anyone.
My past experiences with a lack of running water in the winter came from my teenage years, and it was weeks long affair. We had professionals come in,try to rectify the problem, and have to leave again, with a promise to come back. We did eventually get our running water back, with much gratitude, and an inspiration for me to write a mock epic on the experience for my English Literature 12 class!
This time around, a couple of decades later, I decided to get buckets and water cooler jugs of water to satisfy our basic needs until a plan of action could be determined.
Finally, on the 2nd day of the new year, enough was enough. Even though I was no plumber, I had to try. I was not looking forward to digging out all the ice and snow from the trap door, but out I went. Once in, I found the water line, insulation hanging from it, and the previous heat tape tangled in a useless bunch around a small area of the totally exposed pipe. Off to the hardware store for my previously researched supply list. Apparently lots of people had the same problem, so I was only able to buy 2 of 3 items. (Will be going back to get the 3rd one later!) Crawled down my dug out hole into the small dank, musty smelling spot under the house. Unplugged and untangled the old heat tape, then proceeded to line up and tape down the new stuff. Guessing I didn't do the most professional job, but heeded the safety instructions of not crossing it over on itself. There was more than enough so taped the remaining length up the other side of the pipe for good measure. My helper plugged it in, then the waiting game began.... 24 hours post job I was feeling apprehensive, as nothing happened, so the old feelings of doubt wanted to creep back in. Trying to stay optimistic... At the 28 hour mark kids start shrieking, turns out we were successful, the water suddenly came flying out the open kitchen faucet....
If this had happened to a younger version of myself, I would not have had the courage/confidence to even think about trying this.even if it was an easy fix. Time and experience have paved the way for the wiser version of myself to at least try. The icing on the cake was that it worked!
Time has given me the confidence to go forth, who knows what I may tackle next!
