Homeowner Woes

Yesterday morning I tiptoe down the hall to take a shower before Caroline wakes up. I reach through the curtain and turn on the water, then stand around waiting for the water to warm up. (Note: my husband doesn't do that. He just gets in while it's still cold. But that's another story.)

Something doesn't quite sound right, so I peek inside. The bottom of the tub is full of rust-colored water. No big deal. It is an old house* with old pipes, and I hadn't showered there since before Christmas. So I'm standing there, waiting, and something breaks loose. From outside the tub I see water shooting all over the ceiling and hear it hitting the window. I try to get in so I can inspect the situation more closely, but water is spraying the entire shower curtain...and now my bathroom.

The deal is, a couple of years ago I installed one of those extension showerheads. The house was apparently built when people were only 4 feet tall. This extension makes it possible to stand up straight and still be in the water stream. But over the last year, it has been springing little leaks.

I finally duck in and realize that water is spraying from every point of the extention, but the only water coming through the actual head is one skin-piercing needle that clearly won't get the job done. I reach up and swipe at the showerhead. Apparently that dislodges more rust. The ceiling stream stops and a few more holes in the showerhead spring to life. I manage to finish up, all the while composing in my head a honey-do list for my handy husband.

So, end of story? Not quite.

This morning I planned to cripple through one more shower before Spence comes with the wrench. As I sit on the potty, I reach through and turn on the water. Three seconds later a fine mist is raining down on me, the potty, the entire bathroom. New jets splatter the ceiling and the window, and soon my entire bathroom looks like I drove it through a car wash.

But, for some stupid reason, I ignore all of this and climb in. This time the pitiful flow from the showerhead is supplemented by all the water dripping off the ceiling. I have no idea why I didn't abandon tub. I guess it was just too funny to see it raining indoors. I've always wanted one of those showerheads that gets you from all angles. Now I have it!

*This is my house in Nashville, where Caroline and I stay when I'm working Mon-Wed.