No, this isn't about the eternal male/female war over leaving the seat up or putting it down. This is about my major mechanical victory. This morning I uninstalled the old toilet seat in my bathroom and installed a brand new one. The entire job only took me half an hour and I am basking in the glow of my mechanical achievement.
If you are saying, "So what?" and "Half an hour? That's a five minute job." - you don't understand. I am not mechanically inclined. At all. My husband tells me I am mechanically absent. I don't understand how things work. He's right in some regards. I can do many things. Some things I do very well:
1. I am an excellent food preserver.
2. I sew very well.
3. I quilt like a pro.
4. I am one of the best gardeners of vegetables you will ever find.
5. I speak a bunch of languages.
6. I earned a Ph.D. at the age of 55 just because I wanted to.
7. I ....
Okay, running out of Major Accomplishments here. The point is, we're all good at some things, average at many others, and totally inept at a whole lot of the rest of the stuff there is to know and do in the world.
What's the lesson here? Humility for one. Admiration for people who have a skill and use it for the good of others.
Question du Jour: What's your greatest skill? What's the area of your life where you're not just challenged, but buffaloed?
Don't feel bad, I changed the toilet seat in our guest bathroom and felt super accomplished, too.
ReplyDeleteThen I tackled changing a shower head.
Watch out, this will lead to other handy projects!
Wow, you got PhD? Just because you wanted to? Cool!
ReplyDeleteI feel empowered!!
ReplyDeleteI love posts like this. Good for you for doing the PhD thing just because, and I'm in awe of quilting expertise.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do well...I'm a champion at overloading my schedule and making my To Do List grow longer and longer.
Where I'm challenged? Saying no, obviously. I have so many interests and I love trying new stuff. It's a real problem.
I finally learned to say no and found out that the world didn't end and the askers went to somebody else. Another humbling and at the same time empowering experience.
ReplyDeleteI admire you a lot! I've been wanting to change the kitchen cabinet doors for ages but never get around doing that. Toilet seat renovation is a major, major job, in my eyes!
ReplyDeleteMy Darcy Mutates…
Yes! Affirmed by another woman. Yes!! Tomorrow, I may tackle another project. The future looms...
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'd rather install a toilet seat than tackle ANY of the other things on your list. I get it, but to me, that's just the easiest (and LEAST mechanically inclined) thing there, if you think about it for a minute or three.
ReplyDeleteNow, if you'd installed new flooring and made it go neatly AROUND the toilet seat, I'd be more impressed. But given that I'm still kind of chuffed about learning how to fix the o-ring in the trap under the bathroom sink, I applaud you.
You have quite a list of accomplishments. That PhD is quite something. I'm probably better at writing than anything else, just because I've always done it. I feel challenged musically and wish I weren't.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Monti
NotesAlongTheWay
Hi KK - You are amazing. I just joined your blog today, and wanted to say howdy hello and happy Friday (here anyway).
ReplyDeleteHappy Writing :-)