Hold Steady The Light

“Honey, I need your help.” Hearing those words I inwardly groaned, ’cause I know how complicated matters can get with Hubby on a job.

“How long will this job take?” Hubby replied, “15- 20 minutes”. Awh-right! No job of his to date [34 years] has ever been that fast. Taking a deep breath I said, “Sure thing, Hubby.”

What was this job that required my assistance? Hang on ’cause I’m about to hit you with a mouthful. Ready?

Hubby had to, (1) remove the neutral bus bar clamps and then (2) the neutral bus bars that housed all the neutral bus bar clamps, [where all the neutral wires were secured with screws] …

 

 

(3) clean them, and then (4) replace them in our electrical service panel

 

 

… for the entire house. All the neutral bus bar clamps had to be replaced with new ones. That meant

 

 

all wires in those clamps had to be removed from the old clamps, cleaned and then put back in the new clamps.

Did you get all that? Whew!

Come on. Does that sound like a 15-20 minute job to you? I had to hold a flashlight

 

 

because the electric had to be turned off. Throw in the fact, hubby decided to do this on rainy day. Remember that ….

Hubby cut the power and there we stood in the dark basement. Immediately I put my flashlight on and hubby unfailingly began the job.

Standing with flashlight, my arm extended, within minutes I could feel the strain of holding my arm up for that length of time. I refused to give into the burn in my neck and arms.

Suddenly without warning, the emergency sump pump

 

 

went on next to where I was standing. I nearly jumped out of my skin! I then heard water water water whooshing and when I took a peek I was immediately dismayed to see how high the water had risen. Nooooooooo!!! “Hubby!! You forgot about the sump pump!”

I heard Hubby say …. “No, I didn’t. Yeah I’ve got a better emergency sump pump that’s been on the shelf for five years. [Well, that doesn’t do us a whole lot of good NOW, does it?] This one, though, ought to be OK until I can turn the electric back on.” Sorry but that did not reassure me. I’ve lived through the nightmare of bailing water from a flooded basement.

Hubby it seems must have a deadline hanging over him in order to get the job done. This time it was the sump pump. Be still my thumping heart!

The entire time I held that flashlight I worried that the water would overflow. Then … I got an elbow to the chest ….

OW!

Nothing said as Hubby continued the job at hand as if nothing happened. He was so intent on what he was doing he wasn’t even aware that he had accidentally hit me. I understood and kept steadily holding that flashlight. Hubby, you are very lucky you have such an understanding wife!

I had to follow with the beam of light wherever his hands went and having my arms up and extended, I thought surely my arms were gonna fall off. Standing next to a potential flooding source and concentrating exclusively to follow Hubby’s hands I managed somehow to see the next elbow coming …

So I swayed backwards missing the elbow’s main impact and only getting a slight brush on the chin. All this without letting that beam of light drift. At that exact moment, my martial arts training came back. My goodness! I can still do this stuff!

Minutes dragggggg-ed on. When I saw Hubby struggling to get a rusted wire out of one of the holes in a clamp. I said, “Hubby, get a needle nose pliers to pull it out.” And so he did. “Wow! Thank you, Amy! Your idea worked!” Ha!

 

Point 1 for me!! Goodie goodie!

When we were half done, Hubby thankfully turned the electricity back on allowing the sump pump to empty. Which also meant a break for us. Running upstairs I put Myaderm CBD cream on my neck, shoulders and lower back. I collapsed on the couch groaning …. only half done …. What has Hubby got me into this time?

Determined my arms would not fail, we returned to the job after resting. Again the same thing …. holding steady that beam of light. And again a suggestion from me when I saw trouble brewing. “Hubby, crimp that wire so that it will go in the clamp easier.” Off he went to get the crimper, did what I suggested, and smoothly that wire went in. “Great idea, Amy! Thank you, again!”

 

Point 2! Right on!

F-I-N-A-L-L-Y, we finished the job! Oh. My. Goodness. Three hours later [What happened to that 15-20 minute job?], my arms, neck, and shoulders throbbed and burned. Yet it was all worth it when I heard Hubby’s praise,

“Honey, I could not have done that job without you and no one could have done a better job then you. You stayed right there with me and it was as though the lights were on, I could see so well. Thank you!”

[BIG HUG from Hubby!]

 

POINT 3! Slam Dunk!
~~~~~

Photography/ “Hold Steady The Light”/ Oct. 2018©AmyRose
http://www.herladypinkrose.wordpress.com