In the Heat of It

It is really true that you take stuff for granted until it’s gone. As Thanksgiving was drawing to a close, the heat stopped working on half of our house. And the half that was now heatless included the kitchen, the room where my computer is, the room with all my yarn, another bedroom, the dining room and half the living room.

While it’s true that since I’m in Southern California I didn’t have to worry about really freezing to death, it still felt plenty cold on that side of the house. I took to wearing a jacket and a scarf when I wanted to work on my computer. The angle of the sun is so low at this time of year and it out for such a short time that it didn’t heat things up much during the day.

Friday morning, I discovered that the heating and air conditioning people I use took Black Friday off. It began to look like a long cold weekend complete with rain and a cold blast coming down from Alaska.

Lucky for me, Costco had a Dyson heater (it also cools) on sale. I brought it home and set it up in a place that sent heat to several rooms. It didn’t make them really warm, but it did take the icy edge off.

The repair man came on Monday afternoon. Vision of being toasty any minute danced in my head. Well, that is until he told me the igniter on the heater was broken (basically an electronic pilot light) and he didn’t have the part and it would have to be ordered. He wasn’t too optimistic about when the part would arrive either.

In the whole scheme of things waiting a few more days wasn’t the end of the world. Though I admit to not spending much time on my computer and I was pretty bundled up over my morning coffee. But then I got the call that he’d be coming on Thursday with the part.

Thursday visions of heat began to dance in my head again as I waited for his arrival. I was giving a window of time from noon to four. The hours went by and the afternoon began to fade and he hadn’t shown. Already I was preparing for another night of chill, figuring he’d gotten stuck on a call and wasn’t going to get here. At a little before four the company called to explain the technician was on a call in Westwood, which isn’t that far in distance, but time wise this close to rush hour was a long trip. I wondered if he would really come to my place next or would it get to be so late that I’d get another call saying he’d have to come in the morning.

I began to turn on lights and evening had definitely arrived. And then a ring of the doorbell. He was standing outside with his ladder at the ready. He showed me the new igniter which looked pretty small and not complicated considering the price. Then he went to install it. I smelled the heat before I felt it wrap me in its wonderful warmth. I let out a big ah, thinking of not having to wear layers of sweaters and vests while I watched TV. We discussed filters, I paid him and he left.

The heat was waiting for me when I came into the room with my computer. So nice to sit down and not shiver. Yes, sad but true it takes being without something to truly appreciate it. But never again. Heat now has a permanent place my daily gratitude list.