Today is one of those days where I had an unexpected moment of *really* missing my dad.

Earlier in the week, we had a plumbing issue with the main drain (I got to watch them dig up the septic tank, yayyy!).  Troubleshooting house issues are always a fun learning experience, and I would always call my dad to ask him what was happening and how to handle it.

Today, we realized that we had a frozen, broken pipe which (luckily) had re-frozen into a pipecicle.  As I began tracing pipes back to the source, and hunting down the main water shut off, I was just struck with how sad I am to not have him around anymore.  I mean, I carry it around with me each day – we all do with those we’ve lost – but there are some random times where the reality of it all just punches you in the gut.  Today was one of those days.

My buddy Brian reminded me of a story when in ~2007, I was talking to my dad about how I NEEDED to buy a house and ‘get in the game’ b/c prices are just going up and up and up.  He told me that there was a lot to be said for renting, esp not dealing with repairs and major issues like a new roof.  I countered with “…yes, but when you rent, you don’t get the financial appreciation of the house…”.  We went back and forth, and agreed to disagree.

In a convenient twist of fate, a few hours later my mother comes into the living room to tell my dad that ‘there’s a leak in the kitchen cieling, probably from the bathroom upstairs’.  What are the odds, right?

About 10 minutes later, my dad (who was a big guy) is upstairs and has his feet against the wall – sawing into it for the 3rd time with a reciprocating saw – turns to me and screams over the saw: “SEE ALL THIS APPRECIATION, SON!?!?”.

Point taken…and one I keep with me all the time.