Jill Pertler

Regular readers of this column will attest to the fact that my summer has been defined by two words: home improvement.

I was set to start the summer with a new storm door at the front of the house and a walk-in shower at the very back.

Both are still undone.

But fret not! I’ve accomplished quite a bit in the middle of the house: flooring, countertops and painting cupboards to name just a few.

But not the shower.

I’ve had the new shower unit (albeit still in the box) sitting in my bedroom for close to a month. I need the plumber’s assistance to install it. In other words, he’ll do all the work. But our schedules have been crisscrossed, in the worst of ways.

We had a date scheduled early in the month last month, but the shower unit didn’t arrive on time. We pivoted like plumbing professionals and rescheduled, but an emergency job caused him to cancel. He promised he’d work me in soon, which he did.

The install was scheduled for today. Yeah! I woke early, excited. The plumber arrived on time. The thought of a new shower left me filled with hope, joy and maybe even a little bit of glory. It was going to be a good day.

But.

There’s always a but, isn’t there? You knew it was coming.

The plumber warned me that large, heavy packages are often damaged in transit, so when the shower wall panels arrived I quickly opened the box to ensure their intactness. They were intact. I told the plumber so.

Thing is, I didn’t check the shower pan base.

And now I don’t even have to type the next sentence. You know the outcome here. If two words sum up my summer, then four words sum up today: broken shower pan base.

In the worst of ways.

And that is how, at 10:00 this morning I found myself not watching, admiring and supervising the plumber, but on hold with the big box store trying to return and replace the faulty shower pan.

After waiting on hold for “approximately seven minutes” my first phone call got cut off unexpectedly just as the nice customer service representative was about to tell me the outcome of my return/replace request.

The second call was a little more successful. I didn’t get cut off, but the equally nice customer service representative informed me the original unit I ordered was on backorder and basically unavailable. Of course it was.

So I had to renew my research for an appropriate pan. This involved more phone calling and messaging — to the shower wall manufacturer, the plumber and the big box store.

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy these types of phone calls? Especially the waiting on hold part. That’s the best.

Anyhow, I figured out a new shower pan and put in my order. (In order to avoid another delivery fee, this involved another phone call to a third equally nice customer service representative.)

After that, I texted the plumber again to let him know about the updated delivery date of the shower pan.

Then I took a nap, because I was exhausted. All those phone calls and all.

When I awoke, I considered lamenting my day, but then I had a thought: I’ve had much worse, I’ve had much better. In the scheme of things today’s disasters — or lack thereof — were nothing.

I had to giggle just a bit on that. My morning’s tragedy is nothing in the big picture. It’s good to know that. To understand that. To grasp that. To fathom that.

As for the plumber, he hasn’t gotten back to me — yet. But I know he will. He is a good guy. A busy, good guy. So I’m waiting because that is what you do when you want a new shower and need a plumber to help with the job.

It will get done. I know it will. And when it does, it will be a really good day, or maybe just a sort of good day – when viewed in the big scheme of things, which is a very good way to look at life.

Jill Pertler is an award-winning syndicated columnist, published playwright and author. Don’t miss a slice; follow the Slices of Life page on Facebook.