zakk, sludge, and happiness

it's a long story....
involving my kitchen sink.
and yes, i went around and around with all those questions of
where the pipe was, was it clogged or frozen, and the plunging and the blow dryers.
all that stuff. and after numerous attempts at all those solutions that come to mind
and nothing working, i decided to hold out til sunday when it would warm up
and surely thaw and everything would flow again.

but i tell ya, sunday was one day shy of a week of no kitchen sink.
and by sunday morning i had had it.

i musta truly looked a little bit insane when zakk stopped by that morning.
cause when i was out that day, he came by on his own to try to fix it.

i walked in to a big note on the sink.
it certainly was in better shape than i had left it, but still not working.
my heart melted.
what a sweetheart.
i just love this guy.
i didn't ask him to do that.
he just stopped by while i was gone.

i called him.
thanked him.
and he came by again.
and we talked of going under the house to warm up the pipes.
i suggested taking them apart and seein' what's up.
he wanted to wait a day, wait for the light.
not take them apart.
just heat them up.
and he didn't want me to go under with him.
i couldn't wait any longer.
we struck a deal.
no taking pipes apart, just warming them. and we'd do it right then.
and i got to go too!

i was in!
zakk went home to change and while he was gone,
terri the plumber came to life.
i was SO excited we were gonna get this fixed.
and i was SO excited to go under the house.
i changed, put on my work boots and grabbed my flashlight.

i don't usually like to go under the house.
actually, i avoid it. it's a crawlspace and i have claustrophobia.
and the wrong season will get you killed with viscous spider bites.
but all the things were right, spiders were sleeping, and we were ready.
and i just got filled with the thrill of the adventure.

thing is.......zakk hates plumbing.  and i don't think he's a huge fan
of going under the house either. and it was sunday evening. and there
were a million things he coulda been doing that weren't this. and it wasn't
his sink.
so he wasn't as tickled as i was.
he wasn't tickled at all.
but he was there anyway.
i think that's a really cool part of the story.
he was there anyway. ready to do it.

he opened the little door to crawl thru and there were spider webs everywhere.
'you go first' i suggested. and assured him everything was sleeping and wouldn't
bother him as i nudged behind him.

we got under there and i was like a darn kid. sooooo excited. pointing things out,
exclaiming about this and that, and when the sump pump went on and we were
laying there listening to the water flow out i started imagining being trapped in
a mine and hearing a river of water rushing at you. i shared all this with zakk,
none of which he seemed to appreciate.

i was busy tryin' to warm up the pipe, when zakk reached for the screwdriver to
loosen the thing. my eyes got big, i turned off the heat gun and squealed 'we gonna
take it off?!!'

this wasn't part of the deal. but i so wanted to.
i had done this once before on my own years ago.
i was so proud of myself for doing it.
it seemed like a good time to repeat the empowerment.

he reluctantly and quietly said 'just this side.'

ha! that's all it took!
and i knew it!
before long, the whole pipe was off!
to my great wonder and glee.

that pipe wasn't bad....but the one that led to it -
oh.my. gosh.
it was sooooooo gunked.
so so so gunked baby!
that grosses zakk out.
and he didn't want any part of it.
i, on the other hand, see it as black gold.
it's what will make our pipes flow if we can get it outta there.
and it's our kitchen gunk, which i'm okay with.
don't even ask about other gunk.
this gunk tho, was gunk i could deal with!

and i immediately, in little kid fashion, was begging to be the one who
got to ungunk the gunk.

we're laying there, in the dark, in the cold, in the dusty dirty ick of under the house,
and he turns his head and looks at me, just looks right into my eyes.
really wondering what is wrong with me.
and i laughed with delight as he got outta my way and i got to to unplug the frozen glob.

he had taken the pipe out to go wash it out with the spicket.
so he missed the drama of the gunk.
and i was bound and determined to make it dramatic!
ohmygosh.
there was screaming and hollering and whooping in victory,
my hand looked like i was the creature from the black lagoon,
and for some reason that felt like a badge of glory.
it made me squeal with delight!
and laugh victoriously when the frozen clog was layin' splat all over my crawlspace.

i went and washed up a bit and met zakk back under the house.
it was time to put the pipe back on.
i couldn't do it alone unless i lay my head in the gunk,
so he took over.
(not without a 'what did you do to the pipe?!' when he saw smudges
i had left all over it...they tease me about really getting into whatever i'm doing
and making a mess over everything.)
i scrambled to help him.
keep in mind we're in crawlspace, laying on our bellies.
i'm scramblin' over his legs and my arms are tryin' to reach but another pipe
is blockin' my head.
i start laughing and tell him we're playing plumber twister.
and that tickles me and i laugh some more.
zakk still is not finding the amusement in any of this.
which seems to fuel my amusement even more.

he gets the pipe back in and we finish victors in the war on sludge.

and then! he actually heads off to another part of under the house to measure
something that needed measuring! he actually kept going!
it's a little too scary for me to go that far under, so i headed out for a clean up
and to get some food on the table for my hero.

later that nite, i was headed to bed thinking about something i had said earlier
that afternoon when asked about the support in my life.
in all sincerity, i said i have incredible support all around me.

i thought of that.
i thought of all zakk had done for me.
how he hadn't wanted to,
and even tho he wasn't gleeful, he was completely there and completely kind.
and he did it!
he just did it - no big deal - did it.

and THAT is a very big deal.

and of all that my guys do for me all the time.

and i knew just how blessed i really am.

toastin' zakk, king of the sludge, today!
you rock, zakk.
thank you!