Our refrigerator has been a source of constant angst in the Clark household for the last three months.  There is some undiagnosable issue rendering the middle of the refrigerator freezing, and the top and bottom hot.  Sub-optimal.

Unfortunately, the coils for the dispensable water reside in the middle part, and every night they freeze solid.  And every morning I bring down my daughter’s hairdryer and thaw them out.  Groundhog’s Day.  The refrigerator guy from our home warranty has come out three times now and has yet to determine the root cause.  He replaced the fan.  Then the damper.  Then the flapper (Yeah, I don’t know what that is either). Each time he was confident it would work.  But nothing seemed to solve the problem.

I scheduled a fourth (and what I vowed to be) final appointment. But the refrigerator repair guy never showed.  As the steam built up around my ears, I called him to find out the real story.

“I’m sorry, brother.  I may have been exposed to someone who may have tested positive for Covid.  I’m self-quarantining for 14 days.”

Speechless.

Bristling, I decided to get some fresh air and shovel off the snow from our front sidewalk.  Nothing like the great outdoors to calm the mind.  But as I moved the first mound of white powder, the shovel collapsed onto itself.

Snap!

Was everything falling apart?  Mercury rising, I moved on from the sidewalk project to clean off the car.  I grabbed the scraper and began to chip away at the thin layer of ice on the windshield.  Three scrapes in, I heard a familiar sound.

Snap!

Was this a joke?!  I threw the shovel and ice scraper in the trash and stormed inside, thinking it couldn’t get any worse.  Just then my wife poked her head out of the kitchen.

“The water line is frozen again.  What are you doing about the ‘fridge?” 

Snap!

“What the (expletive deleted) do you want me to do? Our refrigerator repair guy is in QUARANTINE!”

Silence.  A beat.  More silence.  Then my wife started hysterically laughing.  The absurdity of the moment washed over me and it was contagious.  We were both doubled over in laughter.  It’s a “laugh or cry” life we are living in right now.  And sometimes we have to remember to step back and laugh.

Perspective is the Key to Success

With so many things on our plate, at any given time, something is bound to go sideways.  We can’t pretend everything will be perfect.  But sometimes, things feel more overwhelming than usual.  Sometimes, it feels as though the train will never get back on the tracks.

Our start-up business faces constant regulatory and market challenges.  Our customers all experience issues with our product at the same time.  Our children make a series of disappointing decisions.  Our relationships encounter bitter friction across the board.  It feels like there is a constant pull toward the bottom of the drain.

Everything comes in waves. But especially during these pandemic times, negative trends feel even harder to overcome and our challenges are magnified exponentially.  Covid fatigue has officially set in and we are all more susceptible to stress and anxiety.  And that is why perspective is more important than ever.

We Have to Be Able to Laugh

Clarity in the moment is never easy, especially when everything we touch is falling apart.   But we have to realize that this is only a moment in time. It is not a harbinger of doom for everything in the future. It doesn’t take much to turn things around. One piece of good news can impact our entire outlook.  A single positive event can spark a chain reaction of good news.  We are always one small step away from hope.

Relationships mend.  Customers settle down.  Businesses find new markets.  Losing streaks come to an end.  Our children mature.  People surprise us with their kindness when we least expect it.  But if we are too close to it, we may not be able to see it coming.  Sometimes, a good laugh at the absurdity of life is all we need to restore our resilience!

There is Hope on the Horizon

Not that we are should ignore or minimize our issues.  Sometimes we face real struggles and not everything can be “laughed” away.  But once we have dealt head-on with the thorny issues, we have to keep our cool and step back.  Are things really so bad?

In my case, I have two other shovels.  Three other ice scrapers.  And using the hairdryer only takes about a minute.  My life was not falling apart.  It was nothing more than a series of minor annoyances.  All cleared up with a good laugh!

Take a deep breath.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Eventually, the water lines will all thaw out.  And the refrigerator repair guy won’t stay in quarantine forever!