Joined: 1/29/2009
Posts: 18

If you own an older home and have never seen the movie, "The Money Pit," you need to put it on your "movies to see" list. Our house is almost 90 years old and we have lived in it for 27 years. Almost all the updates and repairs that have been done are virtually unseen by most people who visit - we have had a new septic system put in, a new roof, a new furnace, a couple new water heaters,a new well pump, several sump pumps, and lots and lots of plumbing and pipes replaced. Any time we hear some kind of watery noise it strikes fear within us - and we can only imagine how much this repair will cost.
Last week I heard a strange sound coming from the basement - this is never a good sign! I tried to calm myself and bravely descended the stairs to find the source of the sound. Well....it was quite a display - water was gushing forth in great quantities from the bottom of our water heater. It was like a fountain, only not as lovely, nor did it soothe me. Instead it brought forth panic and horror. For, not only was the water spraying out across the basement, our well pump was busily trying to keep up with the water heater's demand for more water to fill it up. All I could think of to quickly end both problems was to shut off the breakers to both the water heater and the well pump. After doing that I drudged back up the stairs and made the call that I knew would just really "make" my husband's morning. He wasn't even all the way to work yet, so I told him to turn around and head home. As I waited for him to get home, I numbly poured myself some coffee and called my best friend. After living in this house for so long, it is just another item to add to our list of things gone awry. We can't even muster much feeling anymore, we just try to get whatever is wrong fixed as soon as we can.
In this case it worked out pretty well, our 24 yr. old son was home visiting, so he was able to help my husband drag the old water heater out of the basement. It was still covered by a warranty, so we didn't have to pay for a new one. Just $25 to rent a truck from Lowe's and a day devoted to getting the new water heater and installing it, and by 9:30 that night we were back in business with hot water. The night before this happened I had one of those dreams where you win the lottery and I was making plans on how I would spend the money, etc. I woke up wishing I really did have all that money - but by the end of the day I was happy just to have hot water again! Sometimes it takes a jolt of reality to make you realize just how lucky you really are, even if you live in a house that is always needing something fixed....for when all is said and done, it really is the little things that make you happy. This house may be a "money pit," but it is home.