The Year in a Week comes with a Lesson in Humility

This past week of rough weather has been an important lesson and slapped down my hubris. I recently discovered, or instead, learned the hard way, that over confidence was a huge mistake. It seems we’ve had a year’s worth of weather in the last week, with snow, a little warming sun, below zero temperatures, howling winds, followed by more snow falling right now.

I was confident my new snow tires made my car impervious to snow; evidently, I was wrong because it is currently a snow-bound sculpture with tufts of white gracing its hood sitting outside my house. Until Saturday, it was nearly completely buried under snow, but I and my trusty broom unburied it, only now to watch it get snowed on again. It may not move until Spring.

The most humbling was my confidence in our new plumbing. When I did the major remodel in 2019, I replumbed the entire house. The pipes are PEX™ tubing and insulated, so I was blissfully worry-free the night the temperatures dipped into single digits. We didn’t crank up the heat, crack open cabinet doors, or let water drip from various faucets as we watched the temperature drop. Not a good decision.

The result of this overconfidence was frozen pipes! Again, my neighbors came to the rescue with much-needed additional heaters and one huge kerosene heater, which I think did the trick on our kitchen pipes.

Four days later, we finally defrosted the last of the frozen pipes in the bathroom. It took three space heaters, cranking the heat up on all the house heating units, and a large, borrowed kerosene heater, but we now have free-flowing water out of every faucet, and the toilets all flush.

As frustrating and humbling as that experience was, we were lucky. Our little guest house didn’t have frozen pipes. It became our well-appointed and heated “outhouse” and water supply. What surprises me, the initial renovation I did was the guest house, including new electrical and plumbing. The first winter after the renovation, the pipes in the guest house froze while those in the unrenovated main house didn’t freeze. Obviously, there is no second-guessing Mother Nature or plumbing. I’ve sworn off trying.

Last night the howling wind sent me into California flashback mode. The upstairs started shaking, and the windows had a slight rattle, so I lay in bed waiting for the earthquake. The kerosene heater used for amping the heat to defrost the pipes is still on loan because our neighbors thought it might come in handy if we lost power. Again, it’s great to have neighbors who are experienced and generous.

This week reminded me; living in the Pacific Northwest comes with a different winter-awareness in everyday life than Southern California. Here, just to take out the trash or run an errand, I need to wear my thermal underwear, warm jacket, scarf, gloves, waterproof, high boots that grip the snow, and possibly money and keys. Even Mugsy needs a sweater or waterproof jacket. This time of year, in Los Angeles, I’d grab car keys, sunglasses, money, sun hat, and sunscreen with an SPF of 30+.

I’ve been humbled by what I didn’t know. I now realize I need snow shovels, not snowboards; heat lamps to unfreeze frozen pipes, not sunlamps for tanning; scarves for warmth, not glamour. I’ve learned to suck up the cost and let water drip when the temperature warrants it.