The Little Things

It's the little things that matter. 

Yesterday, a dear friend went to Lowe's with me and bought the supplies to do some much-needed repairs around my home.  Unfortunately, he had to go home before the repairs were made.

So this morning, I decided to tackle the toilet repair.  It has been leaking for the past month or more, at first just a little bit, but lately there has been a steady trickle of water in the tank.

It took me much longer than it would've taken my friend, but I did it!  I replaced the flapper valve all by myself.  Well, almost by myself.  My son watched and encouraged and handed me things.  There is still a minor glitch (I think I need to figure out how to shorten the chain), but no more leak!

The next project I tackeld was the bathroom door.  This door has been the bane of my existence for the past few years.  It keeps falling off its hinges.  I've made several attempts at repairing it.  Some of them have held for a month or two, but none have totally fixed it.  The last repair attempt ended in a burst of creativity:

"Hey kids, it doesn't matter if the door won't shut tightly!  Just push the magazine basket up against it to hold it shut while you are in there."

So for months, the magazine basket has acted as a doorstop when the door is shut.  Today I tackled the door again.  I haven't finished the repair, because my arms got tired trying to screw in screws over my head, and my patience with the child who was helping to hold the door while I made the repair was wearing thin, so I took a break.  But I think this time it may work.  At least the door will shut tightly now.

Little repairs like these are probably no big deal to some people, but to a single woman who doesn't really know anything about tools or how to use them, this is a major triumph.   It makes me want to sing "I am woman, hear me roar," or something like that.  At the very least, it convinces me that I can do this job of single mom for a little while longer.

It's the little things that matter!