Home Repair

The A/C is out. I am exceptionally grateful that it is overcast and rainy today. The house, however, is covered on the inside with a thin film of moisture and even the floor when I walk across it feels sticky and damp. I don't mind the temperature, but I do not like the wet, tacky feeling.

The kids have not complained. In fact, my oldest only complained about being cold this morning when all the windows in the house were open. It was 76 degrees inside. She put on a fleece jacket. The neighbor loaned us a couple of tower fans, and the moist air is at least moving around inside the house. Other than the dampness, it is very comfortable. I am thinking about turning the a/c off more often and opening the windows. I am enjoying the company of robins and goldfinches during the day.

Home repairs, however, are one of those places where I am out of my league. I feel I have mastered a good deal of the single parent role over the past two and a half years. I have learned to do a lot of things I did not have to do before, and most of them have become routine. I don't think about them any more, I just get them done. Home repairs, however, still fill me with a level of anxiety that I find uncomfortable. I know I lack the knowledge necessary to ensure that a repair person will not take advantage of me. I am hesitant about hiring people, not at all confident in my ability to sort through Angie's List entries and shake out the gold nuggets from the sand. I am certain that my irritation and trepidation do not help my cause.

Unfortunately, home repairs will continue to be needed. Maybe in another two and a half years this, too, will have become one of those routine things that gets done without a thought. For now, I will have to push my anxious feelings aside and make some calls. It's only an a/c unit. We'll be okay.