I am thankful for… a flushing toilet.

Happy Thanksgiving! I know, you want to know why I am writing about toilets this morning, instead of the meal I am helping make, and the family who will be gathering here soon. My first time to hostess Thanksgiving, and the one toilet in the house is being repaired as I type…

It all started a week ago. The old toilet had a flapper-valve go, and then something else, so we were flushing with a bucket. Not fun. The plumber was due to show up for several projects, so we waited… Yesterday, I pleaded and got BoPop and Dad to install the new toilet. Yay! flushing potty is soooo good.

Last night, as the kids got home from church, and I got them ready for bed, I went to check on Johann and discovered the sounds of rushing water. “Dad! the toilet’s leaking.” Here come Dad, and Mica, who had come over for a cuppa and a chat… I think he qualifies as family now, since he helped repair the toilet! They get the water out of the tank… there’s a hole in the bottom of the tank, about the diameter of a pencil. Dry it up a bit, and we have no epoxy where we know where it is, so let’s try the silicone. It has to set for at least 12 hours. OK, now we are back to flushing with a bucket, but at least it will be ready for family tomorrow. Oh, wait, where did the hole come from? Well, it turns out Johann had taken the lid off the toilet tank to see what was inside, and when he tried to put it back on, the lid fell into the tank, and the corner of it impacted the porcelain and broke a conical hole in it. The adults in the living room didn’t hear it, because of the water in the tank.

Cue this morning… I walk into the bathroom to find Johann with the bucket, and a glass of water, with the tank lid off, trying to refill the tank. Oh, boy. Send him to his room… “Dad!”

And here we go again. He’d knocked the silicone plug out. So Dad runs out to walmart for epoxy, and finds some that dries to touch in five minutes, and will finish set underwater. Whew. Heat gun into the tank for a while to dry it out nicely, and plug of epoxy, and Johann under strict orders not to go into the bathroom without a potty buddy.

So Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all… a good flush.