One More Thing to Fix | Mark’s Remarks

It’s sort of funny how we put up with things around our house. Heck, it’s much like our own bodies.

“Oh boy. I gotta go see the chiropractor. I gotta sit a certain way or my back hurts.  If I sit directly in front of the fan, my joints ache. I gotta be careful about how I turn the handle on that door. The bottom plug of that outlet doesn’t work!”

On and on it goes.

I put my favorite pair of boots on this morning. They are comfortable and they go well with things that match gray shoes. One of the shoelaces is hanging by a thread; literally.

Each time I put on these shoes, I treat that lace carefully, I pull all around the damaged area carefully, pulling it tight where I can. I never pull very hard on the main part of lace.

Some day, I will remember I need new shoelaces.

Our bathroom door is a pocket door that slides closed.  I’ve always liked that door. It doesn’t take up space and it’s sort of fancy. Over time, the door has become temperamental. It doesn’t always slide easily. Still, we tug and pull it closed when we need to. Gotta get that one fixed, too.

Oh yes, in the other bathroom we have a lose doorknob that continues to become loose even after we tighten it. Do I get a new doorknob and replace it?  Not right now. I just continue to grab my drill and tighten the screw. It works for a while. And stays tight.

Temporary fix.

The front door has to pull shut as it no longer latches itself into place. Every now and then, the little doo-hickeys that hold the glass part of the door have to be tightened and set right.   At least one toilet has to have the handle jiggled after it’s flushed. If not, it will run forever. The towel rack falls easily if too much pressure is place on it (like a kid trying to do a chin-up). The same can be said for the shower rod. Both of them need to be reinforced better.

The cars and the garage are not exempt. If you nudge the side of the van seat when you are climbing in back, a portion of the seat will fall off. I’ll bet I’ve replaced it around 100 times, especially after taking a carload of kids somewhere.  The light on the garage opener comes loose when it jiggles too much and it makes a little flickering noise when it needs to be replaced. The right mirror on our old car can no longer be adjusted from the inside. As a matter of fact, it can’t be adjusted at all.

I think of heaven and that home the Lord has promised us.  I wonder if there will be clogged drains or fuses that blow or light bulbs that need replacing or shoelaces that break. I hope we are barefoot in Heaven.  I’m thinking I will be too busy to notice, but in our humanness, we sometimes wonder about these things.

After all, all houses that are truly homes are imperfect.

Some more than others.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Mark Tullis

Mark is a 25-year veteran teacher teaching in Columbia. Originally from Fairfield, Mark is married with four children. He enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with his family, and has been involved in various aspects of professional and community theater for many years and enjoys appearing in local productions. Mark has also written a "slice of life" style column for the Republic-Times since 2007.
HTC web
MonroeCountyElectric300X15012_19