How to know you've made the right choice

[FirefightnRick]

Not football related, but darn near as inspirational....at least for me.

Yesterday at 4 p.m. our hot water heater elements went out, no hot water. Our water is abundant and very cold and tastes great but we live in B.F.D. western Parker County and have a 375 foot deep well and even though I installed a commercial softener system 4 years ago the elements in the heater can still corrode due to the amount of calcium that builds up around it from the sediment in the water, and this happens every 3 to 5 years or so depending on how your system is set up. We have a Reliance 808 dual element waterheater that uses a very rare element thread size(Amory 1 3/8th inch thread). NO ONE who was open last night had this element. Not Lowes, Not Home Depot, Not Handy Man, and not our local Ace. Finally after 8 hours and without half the skin on both hands I gave up at midnight figuring I would have to take up the fight Sunday morning when I got home from the firehall. Not a chance!

The wife calls me at 9 a.m. this morning, refusing to take a freezing cold, well-water shower and asked how to take the elements out? I told her and she did. Then while dragging two small children around with her(4 and 15 months old) she drives across two counties, visits three hardware stores(because you cannot describe this element over the phone to people because they are trained to say their "Universal element fits all heaters"...which took me 6 hours to find out this is not so), goes back home, installs the elements, fills the tank, checked for leaks, rewires the elements, flipped the breaker and five minutes later: PRESTO......HOT WATER!

She's my wife, the mother of my two beautiful kids and my best friend. She raises them by herself 120 days out of the year when I'm on duty and still gives me up to the Mean Green every weekend in the fall with no complaints. She holds a masters in counciling and even though she works in a public I.S.D. and has a shorter summer than teachers she never complains. Last month she walked 60 miles in the heat in Dallas to raise $2700 for Breast Cancer research........ and now she's the family plumber! No doubt, God helped me choose wisely.

I love you Darla Jo.

Rick

Edited July 17, 2005 by FirefightnRick

[Green Grenade II]

Not football related, but darn near as inspirational....at least for me.

Yesterday at 4 p.m. our hot water heater elements went out, no hot water.  Our water is abundant and very cold and tastes great but we live in B.F.D. western Parker County and have a 375 foot deep well and even though I installed a commercial softener system 4 years ago the elements in the heater can still corrode due to the amount of lyme sediment in the water, and this happens every 3 to 5 years or so depending on how your system is set up.  We have a Reliance 808 dual element waterheater that uses a very rare element thread size(Amory 1 3/8th inch thread).  NO ONE who was open last night  had this element.  Not Lowes, Not Home Depot, Not Handy Man, and not our local Ace.  Finally after 8 hours and without half the skin on both hands I gave up at midnight figuring I would have to take up the fight Sunday morning when I got home from the firehall.  Not a chance!

The wife calls me at 9 a.m. this morning, refusing to take a freezing cold, well-water shower and asked how to take the elements out?  I told her and she did.  Then while dragging two small children around with her she drives across two counties, visits three hardware stores(because you cannot describe this element over the phone to people because they are trained to say their Universal element fits all heaters...which took me 6 hours to find out this is not so), goes back home, installs the elements, fills the tank, checked for leaks, rewires the elements, flipped the breaker and five minutes later: PRESTO......HOT WATER!

She's my wife, the mother of my two beautiful kids and my best friend. She raises them by herself 112 days out of the year when I'm on duty and still gives me up to the Mean Green every weekend in the fall.  She walked 60 miles last month to raise $2700 for Breast Cancer research........ and now she's the family plumber!

I love you Darla Jo.

Rick

Rick, you are one lucky man! What a great story! What a great woman you're married to...but you deserve it. I, too, and a very blessed guy. Margie is not a sports fan, but she is all behind me in my support of The Mean Green! She worked 3 jobs each week when she raised her kids.

So, Go! Mean Green! We both married great women, and as Ron Reagan used to say, "When I married Nancy, I married UP!"

[FirefightnRick]

Your a lucky man yourself GGII.

Rick

[Eagle91Gator95]

I've known DJ since high school where I chased the skirt of one of her friends. She is, indeed, a keeper! Good genes in that family........

[Rudy]

Rick, does she have a sister or cousin

She sounds like quite a wonderful woman.

[NT_Mean_Green_Fan]

Rick, does she have a sister or cousin 

She sounds like quite a wonderful woman.

lol I was just about ready to ask that question too.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

Be careful... this seems to fit (received as an email)

__________________________________________

RETIREMENT

It is important for men to remember, that as women grow older it becomes harder for them to maintain the same quality of housekeeping as when they were younger. When you notice this, try not to yell at them. Some are oversensitive and there's nothing worse than an oversensitive woman.

My name is George...... Let me relate how I handled the situation with my wife, Julie.

When I took "early retirement" last year, it became necessary for Julie to get a full-time job, both for extra income and for the health benefits that we needed. Shortly after she started working I noticed she was beginning to show her age.

I usually get home from the Golf Course about the same time she gets home from work. Although she knows how hungry I am, she almost always says she has to rest for half an hour or so before she starts dinner. I don't yell at her. Instead, I tell her to take her time and just wake me when she gets dinner on the table.

I generally have lunch in the Men's Grill at the club so eating out is not reasonable. I'm ready for some home cooked grub when I hit that door...

She used to do the dishes as soon as we finished eating. But now, it's not unusual for them to sit on the table for several hours after dinner. I do what I can by diplomatically reminding her several times each evening that they won't clean themselves. I know she appreciates this, as it does seem to motivate her to get them done before she goes to bed.

I really think my experience as a manager helps a lot. I consider telling people what they ought to do one of my strong points...

Now that she has gotten older, she does seem to get tired so much more quickly. Our washer and dryer are in the basement. Sometimes she says she just can't make another trip down those steps. I don't make a big issue of this; as long as she finishes up the laundry the next evening, I'm willing to overlook it. Not only that, but unless I need something ironed to wear to the Monday lodge meeting, or to Wednesday's or Saturday's poker club, or to Tuesday's or Thursday's bowling, or something like that, I will tell her to wait until the next evening to do the ironing.. This gives her a little more time to do some of those odds and ends like shampooing the dog, vacuuming or dusting...

Also, if I had a really good day on the course and it was wet and muddy, my clubs are a mess, so I let her clean them, you know.....get the grit off the grips and a little light Brillo on the club faces at a casual pace. My golf bag is heavy so I lift it out of the trunk for her. Women are delicate, have weak wrists and can't lift heavy stuff as good as men. But I did tell her I don't like to be wakened during my after-golf nap, so rather than bother me, she can put them back in the trunk when she's finished.

Another symptom of aging is complaining, I think. For example, she will say that it is difficult for her to find time to pay the monthly bills during her lunch hour. But boys, we take em for better or worse, so I just smile and offer encouragement. I tell her to stretch it out over two or even three days. That way she won't have to rush so much.

I also remind her that missing lunch completely now and then wouldn't hurt her any (if you know what I mean). I like to think tact is one of my strong points.

When doing simple jobs, she seems to think she needs more rest periods. She had to take a break when she was only half finished mowing the yard. I try not to make a scene. I'm a fair man. I tell her to fix herself a nice, big, cold glass of freshly squeezed lemonade and just sit for a while. And, as long as she is making one for herself, she may as well make one for me too, and then take her break by my hammock. That way she can talk with me until I fall asleep.

I know that I probably look like a saint in the way I support Julie. I'm not saying that showing this much consideration is easy. Many men will find it difficult. Some will find it impossible! Nobody knows better than I do how frustrating women get as they get older.

However, guys, even if you just use a little more tact and less criticism of your aging wife because of this article, I will consider that writing it was well worthwhile. After all, we are put on this earth to help each other...

Signed, George

EDITOR'S NOTE: George died suddenly Thursday Feb.3. He was found with a Calloway extra long 50 inch Big Bertha Driver II rammed up his posterior, with only 2 inches of grip showing.. His wife Julie was arrested, but the all-woman Grand Jury accepted her defense that he accidentally sat on it, and died.

Edited July 20, 2005 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[grad88]

That is about the funniest post I have read in a very long time....I am still LOL...good grief that is funny.

[GreenBat]

Thank goodness most women would realize how good they have it and wouldn't do that.

[SilverEagle]

The sad thing about that story is that some men would think it was serious.

[UNTLifer]

The sad thing about that story is that some men would think it was serious.

It's not?