Disappointment

Of all the people who have disappointed me, none has done so more than me. It's a silly thing, really, but for most of my life I've felt that I could do anything. Lately, that feeling has been slipping away; I don't thing I'm incapable, maybe I've just lost the thread on doing for myself. Today my dryer was broken (again -- the second time in four months). It turned but didn't heat. Last time, I had my handyman fix it. This time, I decided to give it a go. I found a video online for replacing the heating element, looked up my model number, and went to the parts store to buy what I needed. Before I left for the store, I had already pulled out the dryer and taken it apart, being very organized in placing my tools and the hardware I removed. (Okay, so I'm sure most "handypeople" wouldn't keep the screws safe in a glass tart dish, but that's what I had . . . handy.)

I got home and went to work. I had taken a picture of where the wires went so I could put everything back together correctly. It really wasn't that hard. I think it took me thirty minutes at most to reassemble the dryer. I reattached the duct, plugged it in, and turned it on. At least it still turned. But I reached inside. No heat. Maybe I just hadn't let it run long enough. I waited ten or so minutes. Still no heat. So I texted my handyman. He has made my life very easy for the last few years, which is why I don't always do my own repairs anymore. Usually he comes over right away, but today he was fixing his radiator hose and had his truck torn apart. He said he'd call if he could come over, but it's 6:30 p.m. and I'm not expecting to hear from him.

While I was disappointed that I couldn't fix the dryer, that wasn't the worst part. When we were coming home from my son's apartment, I insisted that he bring all his towels and linens home to wash. He does have a washer/dryer unit, but it's very small capacity. He's going home tomorrow morning and will have two choices: wash the items and take them elsewhere to dry, or take them back home dirty. I probably should have just kept my mouth shut about taking care of the laundry here. Meanwhile, my kitchen floor is covered with laundry.

Some days I handle failure better than others, but I've wished several times recently that I had greater knowledge of practical skills. I'm pretty good at writing and talking, I think, but I can't write or talk the dryer into working. And after the way I've talked to it today, I'm not sure it would work for me if it could.