Making Repairs

Making Repairs

“We had a kettle; we let it leak:
Our not repairing made it worse.
We haven’t had any tea for a week…
The bottom is out of the Universe.”
― Rudyard Kipling,

Two chairs are pulled away from our table because their joints aren’t holding well.
My blouse with the pretty stitching on it is sitting in the mending pile because the button needs to be replaced.
I’m not sure what time it is because my watch battery has died.
The bottom fell out of Kipling’s Universe because they didn’t repair the tea kettle.
What about your chairs, buttons, batteries, and kettles? What repairs might protect the bottom of your Universe?

Why do we put off making repairs? I’m going to guess that some will read this and have no idea what I mean because when something breaks they fix it, but others (you know who you are) are looking around at all of the things in disrepair and nodding their heads. Life gets busy, doesn’t it? It seems I say that a lot, but it is true and so much in our lives is impacted because of how busy we are.  If I piled everything that is in disrepair by the door, I would probably have to squeeze into a very small space to get past it.

Google “things needing repair” and you might find:

  1. Credit
  2. Nail holes in the wall
  3. Leaky faucet
  4. Loose brick in the steps
  5. Squeaky floor
  6. Relationships

Any of those items on your repair list?

Fix #1There are great smartphone apps I can use to check my credit score, and it has suggestions for things I might do to improve my score.
Fix #2 I have some nail hole putty and some of the paint for the wall. I should be able to take care of that easily if I’ll find time.
Fix #3 WikiHow has instructions for making the repair, and all I really need is a washer and some simple tools.
Fix #4 A hammer and a chisel, some mortar and bricks will set me in the right direction for this repair.
Fix #5 Screwing the subfloor to the joist is the ‘easy fix’, but I might need help getting to that subfloor.
Fix #6 Repairing relationships might be a little tougher than filling a nail hole with putty but it is not impossible. The best instructions available for this seem to be to let some time pass so people can cool off, be willing to put aside your ego, and stop worrying about blaming anyone. If a friendship matters, both people will come to the table, so to speak.

It is the ‘coming to the table’ that makes me think of any of these repairs. Heading into the holiday season when family and friends come to visit, we decide to paint the kitchen, put in new carpet, replace the toilet, and begin to worry about how to handle personalities. Having instructions for making repairs isn’t all that’s necessary, though. Sometimes, we need more time and in many cases we need money, and often these things are out of our control. Like many tasty dishes, some things are better after sitting, not to be rushed.

If you have repairs you’d like to make in your own life, decide which repairs are doable and which need to wait.  Hurrying to get something done just so it’s marked off the list can mean the quality suffers. The chairs have needed to be repaired for a long time, so expecting them to suddenly be ready for company in a few days is probably out of the question, but if I begin now to find a repair person, get a quote, and start saving money to pay for it, I can have those chairs ready for next year’s meal. That’s the way it is when life is busy and people are people. We do our best to preserve the holidays and our Universe.

 

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Thoughts to Encourage

Joy is the will which labors, which overcomes obstacles, which knows triumph.~ William Butler Yeats

Whether you think you can or think you can’t you’re right. - Henry Ford

The best way out is always through. ~ Robert Frost

Real difficulties can be overcome, it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable. ~ Theodore N. Vail

Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall. ~ Oliver Goldsmith

You must be the change you want to see in the world. - Mahatma Gandhi

Nothing helps like a good nap…

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