Flip the Switch

It’s been months now since we moved into our new house, and you have yet to properly be introduced to my kitchen.  That’s because I’m too lazy to figure out how to use the  panorama feature on my new iPhone.  And because my kitchen is always, well, messy.  Never in any condition to photograph.

The fact that our dishwasher has been on the fritz probably hasn’t helped matters.  Courtney put it back together a few times, but then it completely gave out and has been sitting there half taken apart since Thanksgiving.  One of my friends asked (genuinely, I think) if we were going for the “industrial look.”  No, not really.  Although I have become quite good at the “let’s see how many dirty dishes I can stack on the counter by the sink so that all the other counters look clean!” game.  It’s fun, you would like it.  Especially if you’re any good at Jenga.

Luckily a shiny new dishwasher arrived on Monday. Courtney was super excited that he was able to remove the old dishwasher and install the new one all on his own.  He got to use his new drill and lie on the floor and measure things.   You know, the kinda stuff engineers are into.  In fact he upgraded his engineering skills to a level 7.5.

The dogs are just wondering why there is a big, docile sea monster blocking the door to their bathroom.

Unfortunately once it was installed, it still wouldn’t turn on.  Courtney lay on the floor some more and measured some more stuff and decided that it must be the electrical wiring.  After a screaming match friendly debate over the merits of him trying to fix that himself, he agreed that perhaps we should bring in an electrician.  Then last night while I was making dinner, he flipped a switch.

“Did you know there was a light here?”

“No” and I don’t really care.

I returned to cooking.  Next thing I knew he was on the ground measuring stuff again.

“It’s hot!”

“Why is this exciting?” I’m thinking.  “It doesn’t even turn on and somehow it’s overheating.  Our kitchen is doomed.” 

Then he explains what anyone who knows the first thing about electrical wiring (or life) would know: it’s hot = it’s working.  All he had to do was flip the switch.  Well, I don’t know anything about electrical wiring, but am good enough at logic problems to gather that this also means that the wiring on our old one, in all likelihood, would have also been “hot.”  I was about to downgrade him back to a level 7 (maybe even a 6.5), but then I realized this: isn’t it curiosity and a willingness to go through the process of trial and error that defines a good engineer?

Don’t get me wrong, I could have fixed the dishwasher myself.  How, you ask?  Pure laziness.  By just living with a broken dishwasher until one day I accidentally flipped the switch and BOOM the dishwasher works again.

Speaking of flipping switches, I think it may be time for me to flip a switch of my own.  I have been worrying way too much about the little, unimportant things in life and not focusing my energy on what’s important.  Or not having any energy left to focus on what’s important.  I actually found myself apologizing for this yesterday.  To my dog.

“Lila, I’m sorry Mommy has been too preoccupied to take the time to give you the love and attention you deserve.” 

She looked up at me with big, brown soulful eyes that said “I forgive you.”  That dog’s ability to forgive amazes me.

(Jim looked at me with big, brown hungry eyes that said “whatever, just give me some food.”)

So I will try my best to flip that switch.  Let’s hope it’s hot.

Johanna