Monday, September 9, 2013

We are the destroyers of things

Today I had planned on doing a wrap up post on the Cost of Preserving that I've neglected to follow up on (yet again). But last night the charging pin on my chromebook broke off (this has happened to a previous laptop as well). So instead I am typing gingerly on my ipad that has a shattered screen.

We break things in this house. This house that we were told was "virtually indestructible" - yeah, we are doing a pretty good job of putting in a few dents and scratches.

We break laptops and iPads and printers and wiis. We break hinges off of cabinets, baseboards clean off, crack the glass on the woodstove, put holes in walls and rip carpet. We lose garden tools to the elements, and toys and athletic nets as well. We put holes in jeans, snags in sweaters and tears in blankets and sheets. Our vehicles are crumbling, and we are on our second weed whacker and lawn mower in four years. The second lawn mower is on its second season and undergoing continuous repairs. We are good at shattering dishes, especially those of the vintage variety and on the first day of school a backpack strap snapped before the bus came.

I don't know if we are especially talented at being destroyers or if this is all just a 'pleasant' side effect of living with three boys spanning ages 2-15. The two year old may be responsible for most of the technology related incidents.

At any rate, just as I thought I'd be blogging just a little more, it may continue to be a tad sporadic until I can get some of these devices repaired or replaced. Well, repaired at least. Of course, on higher priority on the repair list would be the woodstove since winter is coming, and a trumpet that may have been waiting in the repair shop for close to three months.

Some days I get more than a little frustrated and angry at our destructive tendencies, but I also realize that many (not all) of the damages are not created out of pure neglect but out of the process of living and using. I imagine that it will often be part of our lives, since even when my boys are grown and gone, I hope to have grandchildren someday running around the house, maybe breaking a thing or two as well.




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