My son has been pushing me toward more independence. Just like a parent who lets their kindergartner walk ahead a few paces, he’s been arranging experiences for me that challenge the dependency and fear in me. Today was like finals day. Two tasks, both of which I would have normally relied on him to take care of, neither of which I would have imagined myself performing even six months ago.
First Task: Remove and replace the poppet assembly in the back pressure valve for the sprinkler system.
Second Task: Remove and replace broken antenna cable for the power antenna on my 1995 Lexus.
I won’t bore you with the details, but I was awesome! Of course it took me a little longer to do it than a professional would, and I am going to have to redo the antenna thing one more time (I forgot to attach the cable to the radio); however, it also cost me a whole lot less! In the case of the antenna, one tenth of the cost! All of the instructions were available on the internet, as well as videos.
If you can read a recipe, you can do home repair and even some auto repair. It’s not magic. It’s not scary. And boy howdy is it self-satisfying! When I turned the water back on and the valve didn’t leak and when I turned the key on the Lexus and the antenna went up — well you just can’t buy that kind of satisfaction.
By the way, I’m pretty proud of my son, too. He’s done a super job teaching and coaching a ditzy old lady to take care of herself!
