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.