Every day is host to at least one golden opportunity. It’s like a video game. There’s always some hidden bonus items on each level. They may not be needed on this level but they’re probably going to help a lot on the next one. They act as a reason to do our best, pay attention to our surroundings and not rush off without checking every corner. I found a big opportunity yesterday that certainly didn’t feel like one at all.

The golden opportunity appeared as a growing puddle of water on my bathroom floor. Not very auspicious for a Sunday morning since most plumbers avoid weekend work unless there are enormous amounts of cash waving in front of their phones. I certainly don’t have that level of monetary enticement, so I did the thing most of us regular people do, I tried to fix it myself. The first step in any plumbing emergency, as far as I know, is to stop the flow of water at its source. The culprit? The washing machine. Is my washer in the bathroom you ask? No. It isn’t. Is it in the next room maybe? Nope. The washer is around a corner, down a hallway, turn right, go up 2 steps and that would be the laundry room. It would seem that I should have been splashing all the way there but no, not a drop of water anywhere except what is flowing out through the grout edging the base of the shower and out onto the floor.

There is no rhyme or reason for this but it keeps happening. With skills borne of previous practice, I get the water shut off and mop up the mess. Disturbingly much of the water had receded, to where I don’t know. There are many things in the universe that surprise me, this one just confuses me. Moving on because there is no answer to this question, I get out the Drain-o and boil some water in the kettle. 3 times I repeat the magical steps described on the bottle and it appears to get better. The moment to test is here and I restart the washer. Oh but no! I had not fixed it and now I have made it worse. The water floods out again from under the shower but now it is rising from under the toilet as well. And worst of all, the shower is now filling with water and unsightly bits. The smell! If I could smell it I am sure it would be horrible. As it is, it’s bad enough that even I can tell that there is a smell.

Repeat the dash to the washer. Rinse the mop and clean up. Should I repeat? I set down the bottle and the kettle, my failure is not unexpected but it’s still not fun. I remind myself that I am not a plumber and make plans to call one in the morning. After all everything else seems to be working except the washer and the shower. I call it quits and close up the house. Time to rest.

How was that a golden opportunity? I certainly didn’t see the shine, but I had done my best, paid attention to the surroundings and checked all the corners.

I spent the morning on the phone with plumbers of all sorts and prices. My landlord had left it to me but would handle the costs. She’s one of the good ones. One gentleman couldn’t give a price without seeing what was going on and came by to see even while the others estimated dollars in the hundreds. I explained what had happened. He turned on the washer, the shower, the other shower, the sinks, flushed the toilets and guess what? Nothing happened, nothing at all. The floor remained dry. The pipes didn’t so much as gurgle. The water flowed as if there had never been a sign of trouble. I looked at my shower unsure whether to malign its uncouth humor or count my blessings and stay silent. Just in case it could hear me, I was circumspect. With nothing to repair, the plumber left me with his number, just in case.

It appears that I had fixed the problem after all. It just had to sit overnight. Maybe it was something else. I have no idea. My golden opportunity? I did my best the day before and it worked out really well. If I hadn’t tried on Sunday my landlord would have easily spent 350.00 today and I found a plumber that I would call again.

So yeah. “Today will bring a golden opportunity” would be a great billboard. I am writing this very late and I’m pretty tired from this latest golden opportunity. I’m curious what tomorrow’s golden opportunity will look like. This is undoubtedly a bad sign.