It goes like this. I'm a terrible plumber. I'm a halfway decent carpenter and I can do basic wiring and some other household maintenance odds and ends, but my plumbing jobs are usually stressful, expensive, and leaky. I've just never had the knack for it.
So the other day when I replaced a sink faucet without too much trouble and it's no longer dripping and nothing appears to be leaking, I was caught a little off guard. Honestly, it's not that I miss the drip, but it's an oddly buoyant feeling that it's not an issue any more. I'm kind of weirded out; I don't know how to think about it. I keep checking under the sink expecting a leak--it's like waiting for the other shoe to drop. (This only relates to plumbing--I can swap out a light switch and not think about it any more.)
But it occurred to me sometime after the fact that this could be a metaphor for my family's life and the lives of a lot of people dealing with chronic health and personal issues.
What if everything were all of a sudden "normal" tomorrow? What if Adored Wife and Social Hurricane were abruptly perfectly healthy, what if Basement Artist and I weren't dealing with our various psychological quirks (and, heck with it, what if my bad knee was okay) and what if Graphics Magician wasn't trying to survive adolescence AND middle school?
We wouldn't know what to do with ourselves. It would be a complete change in our lives, one we weren't prepared for and wouldn't know how to handle. We've had VERY difficult times in our lives here and there, when hoping for an uninterrupted night's sleep or fifteen peaceful minutes to sit down and decompress was wishful thinking. Things aren't anywhere nearly that chaotic now, and I don't miss the really bad times, but you got accustomed to them.
What would it be like for you, friends, if you woke up tomorrow and things were "normal?"
Hope all's well out there, friends, and God bless.
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