That’s a tomorrow problem.
Mark Petruska
Feb. 21, 2022
The problem with tomorrow problems is, tomorrow they turn into today problems.
Which is why it was especially hard to crawl out of bed on Tuesday morning after a long weekend. We traded in a cozy basement with movies, wine, and a fire in the hearth for this.
We didn’t even get much snow; only about an inch. Could’ve been a lot worse. But lemme tell ya something: with temps that cold, plus 35-mph winds, an inch of snow was plenty to turn roads and parking lots into skating rinks. They were about as bad as they ever get around here. When the temperature stays below zero all day, the snow gets compacted but doesn’t melt even a little bit to give you traction. Yesterday, it took me three tries just to get out of the driveway at work…and I have AWD.
If I hadn’t traded in my Mazda two years ago, I might have had to spend the night in the office.
Not helping matters: our new smoker arrived a couple of weeks ago. It’s sitting in the garage, unopened in its original box. Teasing us with the idea of brisket. Someday, when you can stand outside for longer than 10 minutes without fear of frostbite.
We also have brand new kayak racks to install on my Kona. They’re waiting for non-frozen lakes. a/k/a, June.
But at least we have hot water!
I should clarify: we never didn’t have hot water. But we had a small 30-gallon water heater that was pushing 15 years old. We had it cranked to its hottest setting and had to stagger our showers to ensure one of us didn’t end up with lukewarm water. That was inconvenient in the kitchen, because you’d go from scalding hot to ice cold with the slightest nudge of the kitchen faucet.
Compounding matters was the fact that the water heater was situated in a very tight corner of the basement utility room, inaccessible behind the furnace.
I had a guy come out in 2020 to quote us on a new water heater.
“The only way we’re getting a new one of those in there is to tear down the wall,” he said.
I showed him the door. Because, tomorrow problem.
Fast-forward 581 tomorrows (yes, I did the math) and it was suddenly a today problem. Even the first person showering couldn’t count on hot water all the way through to the end. Plus, the ol’ gal was popping and crackling something fierce. Tara was afraid she might blow. So, we had a different guy come out.
“The only way we’re getting a new one of those in there is to tear down the wall,” he said.
I showed him the door. So he could carry in his tools and do exactly that.
It actually isn’t as bad as I’d feared. The fake wood paneling (be still my groovy ’70s-loving heart!) is still intact and covers the giant hole nicely. You’d never even know it was there unless you looked carefully.
And, we upgraded to a 40-gallon water heater. What a novelty it is to shower together!
Err…shower at the same time. Separate bathrooms. You know what I mean.
Although…
Mark My Words 
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