One cold day in February, after another
overflow toilet emergency, I decided I needed a break and packed a bag to stay
with a friend for a few days. The thought of leaving my toilet trouble in my
rearview for a few days brought an enormous sense of relief. I knew it was
temporary, but I just really needed a break.
At the conclusion of my “break” we
had a big snowstorm with below zero temperatures. The day I planned to return I
couldn't make it back to the little house, so I asked my son to check on it. He found my furnace shut off and my pipes
frozen. He played with the thermostat until the furnace kicked back on.
The next day I worked remotely, then
I drove back to my "presumably" heated house.
And it was certainly heated.
However, when I opened the front door, I could hear what sounded like a
waterfall. As I stepped into the house, my boots squished into the soggy area rug,
and I looked down to discover about an inch of water in the living room.
I threw my bags on the couch and
headed toward the sound of the waterfall. I came around the corner to view a
fountain of water shooting up from the bathroom sink faucet and spraying geyser-like
all over the tiny bathroom.
One knob was laying in the sink, and
the water was shooting from where it once was attached. With water spraying all
over me like a rainy day without an umbrella, I opened the cupboard door and
turned off the water.
The waterfall continued erupting all
around me. After a few seconds I realized I shut off the wrong valve and quickly
re-opened the cupboard door to shut off the other one. Finally, the water
stopped cascading all around me.
I quickly surveyed my tiny house,
which had about an inch of water in every room. Everything in the tiny bathroom
was soaked. I knew I needed to mop up the water and pick up things on the floor
and dry everything out.
My
son came over and helped me as we used mops and towels to slowly sop up all the
water. Then we moved the furniture off the area rugs in the living room and
bedroom, and lifted the big rugs and rolled them and propped the huge rolls up,
so the water would drain.
Exhausted,
and in the early morning hours, I called a friend nearby to see if I could stay
with her. Then I gathered my bags from the couch and drove to her house.
Luckily,
after a short time sharing what happened through my tears, I was able to lay
down for the night. I was exhausted, and I cried quietly until I fell asleep.
As
I sludged through the enormous task of contacting the insurance company,
dealing with the insurance company, and starting to schedule contractors, my
friend kept telling me this just might be a blessing in disguise.
I
felt like I really did not know how things could get any worse! Now I had WAY
MORE than just a toilet issue—so how could this be a blessing?
But,
as I scheduled contractors and the bathroom began to be fixed, I took
opportunities to also have some things changed while I already had contractors
working in my bathroom.
And
yes indeed, my friend was right! I was able to use the insurance money and the
money from the loan I had previously applied for and redo the entire bathroom! The
floor was ruined due to the flood, so the bathroom was gutted. And I asked the
plumber to run a camera through the sewer line and he found issues in my sewer
line that I could afford to fix because I already had the loan money!
It
went from a scary bathroom with a barely functional toilet to a brand new,
shiny bathroom, complete with a tankless water heater, new shower, new floor, new
toilet, and a new sink! THIS new toilet never overflowed with the new sewer
system, and it NEVER rocked when I sat down on it!
I
never thought my prayers could have been answered in this way! Even though my
friend kept telling me this could be a blessing, in hindsight, I can most
definitely see she was right! It was a miracle of huge magnitude that I never
expected! And I have never been so THANKFUL for the ability to use a WORKING bathroom!
But
the bathroom story doesn’t stop there! Through a series of events, I decided to
put my house up for sale. It sold quickly, and now someone else owns
that sparkling new bathroom.
When
I reflect on that year, I am amazed at how depressed and stressed I was over
that bathroom. How much I cried and prayed over it, and how I could not see any
way I would get through it. What little faith I had in what could truly happen,
and how quickly things changed in my life to make what seemed monumental at
the time, be so inconsequential to me within a year.
I
had forgotten that all things are possible through prayer, but I also learned
how sometimes we are overwhelmed with a situation that really will not matter
in a year or two. I wasted so much time and energy fretting and crying over
that bathroom, and now I hardly give it a second thought!
And
how thankful I am for my friend that allowed me to show up on her doorstep in
the wee hours of the morning, and her faith that frozen pipes could be a
blessing in disguise. I am thankful for the insurance coverage I had, and the
contractors who put my house back together, including my now-fiancé Chris for
his help! And for the anonymous donor through the church who helped me pay for
some of the many things in that house. It was such an incredibly low point in
my life, and I am incredibly grateful for the friends and contractors who helped
me along the way.
In
immense gratitude, I share this modified Irish Blessing to you all:
May
your toilet water never rise up to meet you,
May
your poo never ever come back,
May
your furnace run warm upon your pipes,
The
“rain” never to fall soft upon your walls and carpets,
And,
until we meet again,
May
God hold you in the palm of his hand.
And
now the toilet story is done.
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