A Journey Through Corn Mazes, Repairs, and Letting Go of Control
Some days don’t go as planned. Mom and I went back to Oakley for the weekend after Mikey’s birthday to celebrate with her and her family. There’s a corn maze south of Oakley this year and Charlie thought it would be fun to take us. He got a wheelchair for Mom thinking the terrain would be too rough. He was right. It was also too rough to push the wheelchair easily. He was a trooper and pushed and pulled her the four-plus miles through the maze.
After the maze, we enjoyed watching the kids play in a stock tank full of corn. It’s like a sandbox with corn instead of sand. A lot easier to clean up and get out of shoes and clothes.
It completely wore Mom out. Me too since I’d stayed up late talking with a high school classmate the night before. Not as I had planned and completely enjoyable.
When we got back to eastern Kansas it was a mad dash to get Mom home and get to choir rehearsal in Lawrence then home to Oskaloosa.
Household Hiccups: Managing Plumbing Issues from Afar
On the Thursday before we left, I had a plumber coming out to check a few things. He discovered that the toilet in the master bedroom had been seeping into the floor. I knew there had been a problem, I didn’t know how bad it was.
He said I needed to call a water remediation crew. I did and they were able to come out immediately. Two guys came to assess the damage. Turns out all the toilets had been seeping through the wax rings. They put fans and dehumidifiers in four of the bathrooms and a basement bedroom under the master bathroom.
Learning to Let Go: Releasing Control and Embracing Flexibility
I left on Friday and John would be there to let the crew in when they came to check the floors over the weekend.
They called Friday morning and said that the sensors on the dryers weren’t working properly. Could they come out and check that day? Of course. I let John know. I think they may have come every day except one between Thursday and a week later on Thursday when they finally took all the machines out.
If you’ve never experienced it, the machines are LOUD. We moved one bed into the room across the hall because it was too loud in the room with them. I was going to sleep in my room and ended up sleeping in the room across the hall that didn’t have dryers in it. It was also decided that it would be easier on Dalila if she went back to Oakley with me.
On Monday they came and took the dryers out of the basement and top-floor bathrooms. That eased the noise level a bit. I still stayed in the room across the hall.
On Tuesday they came and got the machines out of the last two bathrooms on the main floor. Even though there were a couple of machines in the basement bedroom it was such a relief to get the noise makers out of the house.
Today the plumber was back, reset all the toilets, and replaced the faucet in the kitchen that had been leaking. I hope I’m done with unexpected repairs for a while.
There are times when we need to be flexible. To go with the flow. This has certainly been one of those times. It can be hard for me. This came up unexpectedly and I already had plans to take Mom to Oakley. Do I stay and take care of the household problems myself? Or do I release control to someone else? It’s that release of control and the guilt over having someone do something that is my responsibility.
When we have trouble releasing control there is usually something in our past that is keeping us stuck. Come let the horses help bring awareness to it and release control. Click the link below to schedule a no-obligation Zoom to explore equine-assisted approaches to releasing control and finding clarity.
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Onward!
