Stuck Without Hot Water, Vent

[goingonhope]

I know that this, and far worse happens to people, but this perspective is still not comforting to me today. Today is just really challenging. Stressed and very anxious with what to do.

Yesterday, I mowed and weed wacked, worked in the dirt as well; I need a shower! Hot water heater stopped working yesterday and my attempts at showering anyways, seemed a bit to severe. The water is just plain too cold.

Daughter has beautiful, long curly hair, she was away camping all week, her hair is now in knots matted; She needs a shower. We all need a damn shower.

Showing up for school tommorrow is very important (just one of those days). I do not have the heart to send them, if we do not get showered. The plumber is not returning our calls as it is the weekend.

So why all the anxiety, and what are the options. Two that I can see. One, we sign up today and go, for local Y family membership. Now the recent news is that my husband is likely stuck several hrs. overtime.

The other idea is husbands mother, I am uncomfortable with this, but my son is terribly upset and uncomfortable with this. Beyond his discomfort, fear and tears at the thought of needing to shower at grandmother's, he actually said something that turned out to be quite humorous. He was saying, "Do you know what she might have done in that shower?" I said, No. (wondering what on earth he might be afraid of) ......What? He said, "She might've GAD' ed it out in there. (funny). But really, I don't think we could pull it off especially since her place is so small and my son feels terribly uncomfortable with it.

Now as for the Y. Unless my husband is with us, my son would need to go into the showers/changing rooms alone. I CANNOT PERMIT THIS! It is not safe. There are numbers of sexually registered sex offenders in that small city.

I am venting, very anxious, not even able to think about what next as far as repairs or replacement on hot water heater. I want so badly to just go take an Ativan, but this will only tire me and can't see where it will help in making good decisions.

It's one thing to have anxiety when there is no present real threat for it, quite another to lose anxiety when there is every reason under the sun for it. I cannot permit my son in public showers / changing rooms alone without supervision.

Just venting, hoping to release anxiety before things further pile up and anxiety becomes very much unmanageable. The whole mess is making me most anxious, and feel irritable and impatient. It's certainly making a mess of this day, due to being preoccupied, not being able to think straight, feeling increasing anxiety, causing me to smoke more, causing more stress and just plain scaring me. Then to top it off I went ahead and shared something making me feel most vulnerable already.

Just needed to vent.

 

[curiouser]

Oh it's so not fun and frustrating when things like this happen, sorry you have to deal with this. What about warming pots of water up on the stove, bring it to the shower ( may need something under the hot pot) use a cup and pour it over your body? Or if you have a bathtub, even better because you could mix some cold water with the warm and do baths instead. I know it's a pain, but it may be a solution, cheaper than joining the Y.

Honestly I also would have been upset too, then do the above or come up with some other creative temporary solution and make a whole night of it by making breakfast for dinner, but that's just me and I know I'm weird. ;)

I hope things can get worked out and fixed on Monday.:)

 

[goingonhope]

Hey thank you curiouser, I so hope things get fixed or replaced this coming week, or sooner if possible. I can now actually accept this coming week, and not necessarily Monday, because I went to the Y and got our family a membership. My daughter got a good shower, but not me quite yet due to logistics.

We're gonna try the mixing hot boiled water with cold water thingy tommorrow for my son; That should not only be possible but go fairly well, with the tub and all, but it never would've worked well at all for my daughters type of hair. I help take good care of her hair and it's a step-by-step-by-step-by-step process, really something else but comes out real healthy.

So anyhow my husband got stuck for a 16hr. shift and will utilize the Y tommorrow, and I will too.

Had been getting pretty anxious, shutting me down from thinking straight and that was getting me pretty confused, then grumpy, but a close relative stopped by and after coffee, I asked her to please sit for me (son was fine with this ) and my daughter and I went out and got ourselves a membership. Once I realized we weren't stuck, there was some help and things could work out, I pushed myself, didn't take the ativan for anxiety, my grumpiness improved, and I capitalized on this adversity. My Aunt was glad to sit and I signed the family up for a membership that I'd been procrastinating getting.

Hey, again thanks and stop to think about it, I'm really hoping things work out Monday as well, and not much later, as I still have to push myself (and this is stressful) to do all that is involved in going to busy, active, people-filled, Y's, ...But, I'll hope to be doing this anyhow now with or without hot water.

 

[curiouser]

Sounds like things are working themselves out, and bonus you got memberships to the Y. :)

 

[goingonhope]

Things have worked themselves out more then you know curioser. Our plumber showed up late this morning and he was of the belief that the water heater was working fine, so he wanted to check out the facets. First the bathroom and then the kitchen and guess what there was hot water in both places.

He questioned me about a switch, which I have no reason to believe was turned off, and certainly wasn't turned back on prior to his arrival. ...So another words, not turned off, nor on. I thought to mention the rearrangements I'd made, (removal of clutter), prior to his showing up. And, I think I can safely say from our chat, that I had had too much stuff, (totes, boxes, stuff) packed too closely to the water heating system and it had temporarily shut itself off, or was unable to work, ...........until of course I removed things for his convenience.

Too funny. :laugh:

The monetary cost was nothing. And, as I said before me asking for help, being able to receive it and taking action decreased yesterday's growing anxieties, stuck concerns, inability to think straight, irritability and grumpiness. Everybody feels these ways sometimes, but when it's my turn it's threatening to me, because I am not yet always reliably successful at regulating such fears and feelings as well as once before, yet have been increasingly improved; If that makes any sense?

My family and I have memberships to the Y; We have a few different activities there to look forward to if I can only not convince myself that I may need an earlier, or night-before benzo. to go, and to enjoy. Who knows, maybe I do?

Anyhow on a much more postive note, indoor/outdoor swimming, basketball for all of us here, and possibly rock climbing as well, and perhaps even more for the kids. If I can shut my brain off and exert the even more courage.

Signing up is one thing, now I've got to get us regularly there.

Thanks again curioser for your support! :)

goingonhope