Fix the Leak.

Saturday was a sunny, cold day. When I got up, the baby was getting ready to spend the day with her grandmother. It’s always sad seeing her leave. Yvette was in a pretty bad mood about it. I get it—we usually spend the entire weekend with the girl, and even more often lately.

Yvette and I watched a movie called The Rip. It was a new Netflix exclusive starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, among other familiar faces. There was lots of tension within the police force over a recent officer’s death, likely at the hands of other agents. All over money—the root of all evil. The movie had some great twists, and we were sucked right in.

I decided to see what damage had been done to my plants by the attic blast that came through. I lost a few, but the ones I wanted to keep pulled through. I watered them and let them have some much-needed sunlight.

I used the opportunity to clean up the back porch. The plants had taken up a large portion of it, and the dogs had made a bloody mess. It was driving my OCD brain mad. It was a great relief to have that small thing taken care of.

Monday, I woke up and took a cold-ass shower. I had to call someone, and once at work I dialed three plumbers before finally reaching out to one of the larger operations in town who could check out the issue. They were able to arrive fairly quickly, and the diagnosis wasn’t great—a slab leak. I had worried that would be the issue. Google had already led me to that conclusion, sadly. Why can’t it ever be something simple to fix? Damn bullshit.

I was kind of useless at the house, so Yvette took my position and worked from home. I can’t really do that. All day at work I worried about the situation and how bad things could possibly get. I hate anxiety. I’m sure I annoyed Yvette with all the calls asking for updates. She is such a sweetie.

In the end, they were able to fix the problem without too many invasive measures. A few walls were cut out, but they were all hidden either in a closet or behind a cabinet. I really appreciated the guys making it as discreet as possible. I’m used to plumbers destroying things and leaving a mess for someone else to fix later. These guys were excellent, and I will recommend them. The cost was high—but it could have been much higher.

I had a celebratory drink, and that night the family came over for dinner. Yvette made her famous lasagna. We ate like kings. It was great visiting, and for once I was very happy not to have leftovers in the fridge. Good conversation with my father-in-law. It was a great evening.

After everyone had left, it was time for me to take my first hot shower since Friday morning. I was so excited to have hot water once again. I cranked the heat up and just relaxed in the much needed steam. Sleep found me well that night.

I was on another office duty week. Kill me. I hate it. There was very little going on, which somehow made it worse. I caught up on all my paperwork by Tuesday, leaving me with absolutely nothing meaningful to do. I called the water department about leak adjustments for the last and next billing cycles, wrote a review for the plumbers, and generally tried to look busy. I felt painfully lame at work.

We had another protest on campus Thursday. Turning Point hosted a “We Stand w/ ICE” event, which quickly drew an anti-ICE protest in response. When I was picking up Yvette for lunch — and again when I dropped her off later — we noticed a heavy police presence in the parking lot next to her building: city cops, state troopers, sheriff’s deputies, and campus police. At first, I wondered if it was some kind of training exercise, since they usually send out an email when something is happening. Not this time — it was all for the protest.

Honestly, the show of force felt unnecessary for a small campus demonstration. Still, I suppose it’s better to be overprepared than caught off guard. What mattered more to me was seeing students actually show up and speak their minds. I don’t agree with ICE — fuck ICE — but I do respect that both sides were willing to stand outside and be heard. That kind of engagement — even when it’s messy or uncomfortable — is part of what a college campus is supposed to be.

Friday morning started with frost on the ground, and by afternoon it was all the way up to 81 degrees — nearly a sixty-degree swing in a matter of hours. Texas weather really does keep you guessing. I never quite know how to dress for days like that. The morning felt sharp and cold, and by afternoon I was peeling off layers and wishing for shade.

The afternoon itself was quiet, much like the rest of the week. I only had one errand to run, and I took my time with it. It’s a long drive anyway, so I went the scenic route halfway to Ballinger and back. The stillness of the drive felt nice. After the way the week began — with that expensive water leak — uneventful felt like a gift. I’ll take calm and ordinary over stressful and costly any day.

Happy Friday!