Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Wednesday's wisdom....

Don't panic!
We woke up this morning to the realization that the pipes in our house had frozen overnight. 
Not exactly the best news I've heard in a while, I must admit.

The Englishman had already developed a plan to solve the situation by the time I got dressed.
"What can I do?" I asked.
He said there really wasn't much I could do.  He needed to use a hair dryer and access as many sections of pipe as possible. Long story short, he had the hot water back on first, then was able to finally get the cold taps running again.

Hurray!!  My hero!!

As we sat down to have our breakfast following our little blip to the morning routine, the Englishman thanked me for not getting upset during it.
I told him that I've learned over the years that it doesn't help anyone or anything if I start to panic. My poor mother suffered from what she called "chronic anxiety" most of her life and often her first response to situations would be one of panic.  Growing up I saw first hand that that type of response didn't help either her, anyone around her, or the situation.  So I learned early on to try to balance that by staying calm, if possible.  I'm grateful that she taught me what not to do through her struggles.

Life is a series of lessons, isn't it?

I admitted to the Englishman that my staying calm doesn't always mean I'm not still having several conversations running through my mind - I just choose to keep them there and not voice them aloud.
I also keep a constant stream of Hail Mary's flowing - which I find helps me focus and stay calm.

I'm so grateful the Englishman was able to rectify the situation himself, without the added cost of having to call in a plumber, and that the pipes didn't burst or cause major damage.   And if my being calm was a help to him, then I'm grateful for that too.


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