Lesson From My Mom

Although I didn't do the labor, I have to admit that I felt victorious when I turned on the sinks to discover running water. Even though the water was brown and mucky, a temporary result of the well being disturbed, I felt as if I had overcome an obstacle which initially rendered me defeated. Unfortunately, my water vindication was short lived when I realized that our toilet tank was not filling with water.

It was not difficult to diagnosis the problem: the muddy water had obviously clogged something inside the tank. Not knowing anything about toilet repair, I acquiesced the responsibility for fixing the defunct toilet to Scooter. He worked on the tank for about five minutes on Wednesday evening before declaring complete defeat, turning off the water and instructing us to never use that toilet again because it was broken.

I learned many lessons from my mom when I was growing up. For much of my childhood she was a single mom with limited resources. Giving up was simply never an option because calling and paying for a repair was not financially feasible. I remember watching her toil, problem-solve and try to fix just about everything in our house. I remember witnessing tears of frustration as she squeezed herself into small, cramped and dirty crawlspaces in order to try to stop a leak or fix a problem. Even when she didn't know what she was doing, she always tried. Giving up was never an option!

As I have grown older, I've come to appreciate the must try attitude demonstrated by my mom. Although I don't always know how something is going to be fixed, I am not one to simply give up and walk away. Like her, I feel compelled to exhaust all of my options and calling an expert repairman is always the last resort. Refusing to accept Scott's white flag of defeat, I woke up Thursday morning determined to fix the toilet.

Logically, I reasoned that the intake mechanism was probably clogged with grit. I had no idea how to go about unclogging it, but I had faith that I would eventually figure it out. My adventures in toilet repair began with my learning a paramount lesson: it is prudent to turn off the water supply to the toilet before beginning any repairs. I skipped this step, and ended up thoroughly washing my bathroom walls, floor, fixtures and myself before I managed to get the valve completely shut off. You would be amazed how quickly the water will spray out of such a small little hose! Needless to say, I was not off to a good start.

Soaking wet and trying to squeeze my pregnant belly further into the odoriferous spot between the commode and the tub, I began to feel that my battle with the toilet was becoming personal. I was determined to get the water flowing again, and I knew that I was not going to give up regardless of how long it took me.

After a lot of experimentation, some phone consultations with my mom and research on YouTube, I had managed to remove the inner workings of the tank. It took me three hours, but I managed to get the grime removed and everything put back into place. I felt such a surge of adrenaline when I turned the water on and the tank began to fill. The first flush was one of the sweetest sounds I've ever heard!