I did it. Fixed my dryer. It took a $25 part, two weeks of waiting, and a YouTube video. I was all set to just buy another dryer. But as I checked out the prices, I thought what’s the worst that could happen. I try to fix it, fail, and buy a new dryer. Or I give it a go and succeed. I did and I did. The dryer is quietly cranking away, chasing off the moisture from the wet clothes.

Takes me back to my youth when I had more time than money. Sounds like now. Well, in that I have a lots of time. Back in the day I was always fixing things from cars to water wells, to septic systems. Going forward I’m going back to fixing things. Next up is the mower. It needs new blades, air filter and an oil change. I’m on it. Although the fence is really next up. And that poses almost nothing like a problem. Going back to 1975 when we bought our first house, a fence was the first thing I put up. I’ve fenced multiple yards and multiple pastures since. You simply set your mind to it and get to work. No one is grading you or passing out prizes. It’s all about satisfaction.

But isn’t that like life in general? You just set your mind to it and get to work. And it’s all about satisfaction. You do things and then you feel good about yourself. And right now, with my fixed dryer, I feel good about myself. And my problems, such as they are, no longer seem insurmountable, they just seem like problems I can deal with just as I dealt with my dryer. And that calls to mind something my mother always said about idle hands being the devil’s workshop although mostly he’s just being playing in my idle brain, but I think I’ve turned that corner and there won’t be much for him to do anymore on the torment front.

John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Tale