it could be worse

It all started this past Thursday. I take that back...it started a month ago. The toilets clogged. But not just the toilets - the sinks and showers wouldn't drain either. Bad news because it's not a problem that can be solved with some drain cleaner or a wire hanger shoved in the pipes as far as you can manage. Nope. A month ago the problem magically resolved itself by the end of the day so we figured that whatever was holding things up had passed on through.

Okay, so Thursday. Deja vu. I first noticed it when I was taking a shower and by the end of it I was standing in a couple of inches of water. Same thing happening in the other bathroom. When it didn't resolve itself that day, we had the neighbor (who owns a plumbing company) come and snake the lines. No dice. So, he dug a hole over the lid of the septic, lifted that big, 'ol concrete top off and jumped aside as the septic contents burbled up. Yeah. Gross.

Fridays are not well known for being able to get people out to work on stuff on a moment's notice so we rode it through the weekend - not doing laundry, then having no clean clothes so then a visit to the laundromat where I did homework, showering outside, washing dishes outside, doing other...stuff...outside. Pioneering it (which was probably much easier, mentally, for the pioneers who knew nothing else and who didn't have neighbors within eye and ear shot who are flushing and dishwashing just fine. Don't know for sure...just a guess.)

I tell you what, when the honey truck showed up this morning to pump out the septic, I could have kissed them. They might have well been wearing super hero capes. I went to run some errands anticipating being able to come home, load the dishwasher, run a load of whites, and go about my American dream life as usual.

Turns out it's not that easy. The leach field is dun tucker'd out. It's totally shot and needing to be replaced. We just bled a turnip to get the septic pumped and then to have the plumber hydroflush the lines just to find out that he couldn't flush the lines because the leach field is shot and we'll have to get the septic pumped again when we replace the field. Cough Cough ca-ching! (Tell you what...if I were a plumber hired to do a job and couldn't do it for whatever reason, I would have a hard time still charging full price for the service. But that's just me.)

Anyway, there are so many rules and red tape about this kind of thing. I know there are good reasons but it sure makes me want to jump on some soap box about ridiculous building codes and over regulation and the horrendous fees for upgrading and repair. This is also when a little money stashed in savings would come in handy. Or a sugar daddy. The cool thing is that this kind of time is when my cockeyed optimism kicks into high gear (it's self-preservation) and I march around full of purpose tidying up things as well as I can so that I'm ready when the suprise that we never could have imagined shows up and gives us exactly what we need. This is the way things go when you are certain that this is the way things go.

But i digress.

Today, there was shining sun, birds collecting chicken feathers for nests, the puppy minding her manners a little better each day, plenty to keep me busy, a house full of awesome help.  

 Yes, it could be worse. A lot worse.

Comments

[KarynJewels]

I can totally relate to everything right on down to the determined optimism in the face of adversity. Possibly it's fight or flight and we are fighters. Happy, look at the full glass (er....shower) fighter! You and your septic issues are in my thoughts Stephanie. (that sounds kinda gross and kinda supportive!)

[Janie Husband]

omg, i feel your pain....been there done that....when i started reading your post i thought, "holy crap, that's me"....pun intended.....;-)

[Eunice]

I'm glad you posted about this. Since we are now on a septic, it's been a learning curve. Something to keep a lookout about. We cut down a tree that was too close to the leach field. Again, thanks for the post. I hope it gets fixed soon!

[Lalyblue]

At least spring is here... Bon courage!
Laly

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