A recovering puppy in clean blankets
Things went kind of crazy for us in February (and there’s still one day left before it ends.) Early in the month, our clothes washer broke and when we called the repairman in to take a look at it, we discovered that not only did it break, but it was literally dead in the water. We needed a new one. The repaid guy also mentioned that that funny noise our dryer makes? It’s what they like to call in the industry the “death throes of machinery” We’ll be needed a new one very soon.
Fantastic.
Because of the way our house was built, our washer and dryer have to go through 2 narrow doorways and a bathroom (in fact we have to take the door trim off of both in order to gain another inch) We removed the trim and ordered our special sized washer (which took 3 weeks to arrive.) and had it installed. We haven’t found a new dryer yet which means that our door trim is still off the doors and we are using a dryer that sings its protest. We’re not sure if each new day is going to be its last.
But, you know us, we made do. We wore our clothes more than one day and we went to a local laundry mat and did our wash there on the weekends.
And then with that horrendous sub-zero cold snap we had – a water pipe in our garage burst. All that stuff we had kept in the garage for storage got soaked. And the water to the house (and more importantly to our new and long awaited washer) was turned off for a few days while we contacted plumbers and insurance people to come take a look.
Fantastic.
But you know us, we made do. We took showers at the YMCA and brushed our teeth with bottled water.
And then our little dog Pippin stopped peeing. Oh he tried but nothing more than a few drips came out. I took him to the vets on a Sunday (paying the emergency fees because … it was a Sunday) and our tiny friend was diagnosed with bladders stones that needed immediate surgery.
An overnight stay, 5 stones and a groggy and shaved little dog later and we took him home.
But, as you know by now, we made do. When Pippin came home we all pitched in to help him. We covered him with some warm blankets that we had been able to wash in our new washer and we made sure he had plenty of fresh water from our water pipes that had been repaired. It all worked out and Pippin continues to do well.
Fantastic.
Moral of the story – No matter how bad things can get (and I know, sometimes they can get bad), you can always find something to be grateful for. Just keep making do with what you have and chances are you’ll get through it.
(But I’m still looking forward to the end of February.)
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Wendy Thomas writes about the lessons learned while raising children and chickens in New Hampshire. Contact her at [email protected]
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