Waterworld

Of the three items that were waiting in the wings to go wrong - the water heater stepped up to the plate a few days ago.

Last year, one of the valves started dripping - then stopped.

The day after I got the sewer straightened out, E noticed a puddle of water near the water heater. I'm thinking it is just water from where I mopped up - but it's still there a day later.

Plus, it's bigger.

So we call the plumber. In my decidedly-out-of-synch-with-recent-events mind, I'm thinking we're replacing the bad valve. I dry up the water and put a bucket under the spigot to see how fast the water is coming out.

Next day, the water is on the floor, not in the bucket. It's obvious that the water isn't coming out of the spigot, it's flowing out of the bottom of the water heater itself.

This is a bad sign. A sign that reads: "Hello, I am your hot water heater - and I am now dead."

So, here we go. E waits for the plumber who charges us eight bills to get the old one out, the new one in, and a few fees just because he's got us over the barrel.

I know. You're saying, "You got rolled."

Yeah, but we're not in a position to shop around. Time is short and this needs to get done. Like, now. We still have to get the furnace looked at, and buy meteor insurance.

I'm over it. I'm already bracing for the next thing.