There had been almost three weeks of silence when the beautiful sound of the washing machine interrupted us. Few appliance breakdowns affect a family on the scale of the loss of the washing machine. In recent weeks we have coped with malfunctioning refrigerators, ice makers, cars, ceiling fans, and televisions. But losing the washing machine for almost three weeks was traumatic.
Coping with laundry in a multi-family household is already complex. A day or two passed before we realized that the machine wasn’t working properly. Unfortunately there was no chance to address it immediately. A few days for Mike to determine that we needed service and more for the service to come and determine that a part needed to be ordered. Another week for the part to fail to appear before calling a parts shop and ordering the part ourselves. The delay gave Mike time to figure how to place the part. A holiday, delayed delivery, etc. etc. But alas it works!
Meanwhile, ED and I made several trips to the laundromat where we could complete several loads at one time and meet interesting people. It isn’t all bad. My hats off to those people who do this every week (I’ve been there). Besides the inconvenience, the cost is unnerving. The laundromat is a good reminder that we were suffering first world privileged problems. No complaints.
