Today is laundry day, but this morning our dryer broke down.
FOILED! I’ve been FOILED by FAULTY TECHNOLOGY! NOOOOOOO!
When I went to pick up William from preschool, I was informed that he was sick, with a fever. We headed to the doctor, and yup: ear infection. The neat thing, I guess, is that he was acually able to articulate his needs: “Left ear hurts, Mom.”
The great thing is that we live two doors down from some of the kindest people on earth. I’ve spent much of the afternoon hauling baskets of wet laundry over to take a spin in their dryer. And even if this particular family hadn’t been able to help, I know that I could have also taken the clothes across the street, or to the houses kitty-corner from ours. It’s a great place to live, even if my family is regarded as being “odd” because I eschew vinyl lettering, don’t take trips to Hawaii for spring break, and have only three children.
But I digress.
A good chunk of the morning was spent crouched behind the broken dryer on the possibly the world’s filthiest linoleum (hey, how do YOU clean back there?) accompanied by naught but a rachet set and The Fix-It Yourself Manual, only to discover that our dryer is so old that it can’t be fixed by me. The book recommended removing the back panel to test the machine’s various electric components. However, the back panel on my dryer can’t be removed because there IS NO BACK PANEL — the sides and rear of the machine are all one continuous strip of metal. (Alas, I didn’t realize this until after I had ratcheted off half of the bolts.) Repairing it would require a dismantling of the entire machine, and considering that the problem is most likely a burnt-out heating element, it might not even be worth it.
This dryer is from the Nixon administration, after all. No, it’s not avocado-colored (like my oven). It’s goldenrod.
Add to this mix a few classic Jeffrey moments (he climbed down a window well and spent time throwing rocks at the window; he wandered off to a friend’s house without telling me, got caught trying to climb inside the broken dryer, etc.) and you can probably understand why my head is begging for mercy right now.
When Brian came home, he tried to comfort me: “Hey, at least it’s not a Job Day.”
Har de har har.
Casa Camisas 
I really, really love my technology. I can (and have) lived without indoor plumbing and running water, and OH HOW I LOVE THEM!
I really hope everything smooths out soon, and that you will be able to cuddle up with a hot bath (or at least a hot chocolate) and a good book (I recommend Anne, of course!) and get away from it all!
That’s pretty cool that you got behind the dryer with the ratchet set and DIY manual. And Jeffrey’s antics are so comfortingly familiar. Hope you sleep well tonight!
Awe, that stinks Brooke! Power to you for being so gun hoe to fix it, and a big pat on the back to your kind neighbors. 😉 Hope you have a better day tomorrow!
Wow, I’m impressed you gave it a shot! I would have called my daddy crying the minute it broke. 🙂 I dont clean behind my dryer either, we’ve had a few things fall down there (bibs, cloths, etc) that I’ve given up reaching for, as far as I’m concerned they’re gone forever. Hope you get a good fix it guy! If you need an honest guy let me know and I’ll ask my dad (he has lots of good contacts as an apartment manager).