If It Ain't Broke, it Can't Be Fixed

As I have shown you time and time again, B likes to GET THINGS DONE around the house. He paints, he pulls up carpet, he fixes showerheads, he starts fires (in the fireplace of course), he fixes the stairs, he hangs blinds...you get the picture. He is a fixer. Hence, he has the tool room that debuted yesterday.

Where am I in the grand scheme of things? Apparently I am the breaker. Not intentionally of course. Just by happenstance. I am the one that will say at any given moment:

"The shower pressure is too low. I think it is the washer" (it wasn't)

"I cannot get my blinds to work. They are stuck" (they were not stuck)

"The door won't open with my key" (I was turning it the wrong way)

"I need a hook to hang things on"

"The wireless isn't working"

and the list goes on. B always comes to the rescue and then some. Then there came the day I really broke something and B wasn't around to fix it.

I came home from work and it was absolutely freezing out. The new house can be quite drafty so I am always checking the thermostat to see what the temperature is. If it is anywhere near 60 or if I cannot feel my fingers, I turn it up. I had just walked in and was aggravated about how cold it seemed to be so I went over to the thermostat and attempted to turn it to see what the temperature was.

Let's stop right there. At that point in time, the thermostat was hanging from the wall because B was in the process of putting it back together. There is also no good lighting in that spot to see what it was, hence the turning it.

Satisfied that the thermostat was at a good temperature and hearing the heat, I headed upstairs. An hour later I was absolutely freezing like nothing before so I went back downstairs to find that the temperature dropped. And I did not hear the heater. Strange.

I tried to turn the heat up but I never heard that "click" that comes on when you set it to a temperature higher than what it is at. And the furnace never came on. Back upstairs I went. Another hour passes and I find that I am wearing a thermal, two turtlenecks, a sweatshirt, long johns, pjs, socks and my Uggs and I am STILL freezing and I realize something just isn't right.

Back downstairs to discover that the temperature has dropped even more. Fearing that the furnace has died, I start to panic. That is when I notice that one of the two little wires coming from the thermostat is not coming from the thermostat anymore. It is totally detached. Huh, I wondered. Was that supposed to be attached? I text B:

Me: Are both wires supposed to be attached to the thermostat?

B: Yes

Me: Damn! I pulled one out. Do you know where it goes?

B: No, but there should be a little hole that is slightly pulled out

Huh? I look and there are about 10 holes and none of them look "slightly pulled out". Concerned for my safety, I type:

Me: If I try to put this back will I get electrocuted?

B: No

I then instant message my sister in law:

Me: If I try to put a wire back in the thermostat, will I get electrocuted?

Jenny: No*

Meanwhile, B is texting me again:

B: Get a small Phillips, make sure there is no wire stuck and put it back in.

And that is just what I did, minus the "check to make sure there is no wire stuck part". I was too petrified when sparks were there. Me and the tiny Phillips found hanging on the tool room wall fixed the problem. The problem I created, but I fixed it. I don't think I have ever heard a sweeter sound then that furnace firing back up.

Maybe I am a MacGuyver after all. Or not. I don't recall MacGuyver ever breaking something.

That he admitted to, at least.

*Don't ask why I thought my sister in law needed to confirm that I would not get electrocuted. I just needed confirmation.