The Know-It-All

My husband is a Know-It-All (not in a bad way) and I'm always amazed. It seems that no matter what's broken around here, he can fix it. If he can't, it's usually because he doesn't have the proper tools, but regardless, he always knows how to fix it. That never ceases to amaze me, even 20 years later.

I watched my dad fix things all over the house all the time while I was growing up. He also had miscellaneous friends who did things he didn't, so they could trade off work (My dad was an electrician.), which was great. One time at school, a friend told me they had a problem with their bathroom the previous day and the plumber was there for a really long time. It struck me as odd because we never, in my memory, had hired a plumber. Of course, we had some friends from church who were plumbers, so they'd come over and help, but hiring one? So strange to my young mind. It was about then that I realized I would need to marry a man who could fix things himself. I felt that it would be pathetic for my husband to have to hire someone to fix something. (No offense to you out there with husbands who hire people. I know now that circumstances often require hiring people, so please don't be offended. :-) ) So, I started adding to the prayers for my future husband, whoever he might be, that he would be able to fix things around our house.

Fast forward to Nicky. When we were dating or engaged, I never thought to ask if he could fix things. He was a carpenter, so I naturally assumed he could do anything. Never crossed my mind he might not know something. lol And as if to prove it, on our honeymoon, I dropped one of my diamond earrings down the sink at my grandmother's place (where we stayed on our honeymoon--she was at my parents' home) while getting dressed one evening. I didn't know what to do, except to call Nicky. He told me not to turn on the water and he'd get it later, when we got back. I think it was actually the next day that I walked in and found him under the sink, taking the drain apart to get out my earring, which of course he did. I never doubted.

Since then, we've had any number of mishaps and breakages, which he has dutifully and knowledgeably fixed. He's so smart! He's fixed the roof, broken glass, toys, cars, tools, doors, plumbing, fences, fans, tv's, vcr's, lawnmowers, toilets, sinks, drains, washing machines, dryers, shelving, jewelry, stoves, watches, swamp buggies, and any number of other things. Once, while I was getting ready to brush my teeth, one of the kids was using the toilet and as they flushed it, I went to get my toothbrush out and it accidentally flipped out of my hand and went straight into the toilet, just as it was all going down......Yikes! Try as I may, I couldn't stop it and down the toothbrush went. "Niiiicky......!" He came in and took the whole toilet apart to get to the lodged toothbrush somewhere down below. Of course he fixed it. I never doubted.

So you're probably wondering what made me write about this today. Well, last night I noticed the toilet not filling up like it should, so I showed it to Nicky. He said, "Yeah, I'll have to replace that part right there. I'll do that tomorrow." Isn't he wonderful? He's so smart and knows so much. I never doubted.