Fix It or Throw It Away?

Fix It or Throw It Away?

Yesterday I set out to get a few things done on my day off. One of the various things on my list was to get my above-the-stove, mounted microwave fixed. It had been going off and on for no reason. Thirty seconds on, turns off. Thirty-five seconds on again, turns off. Totally annoying.

I called my fix-it person and asked him to do a few other things around the house, as he charges per hour and thought it would be good to get it all out of the way at the same time. One of the things he was going to take care of was to change the oil on the riding and push lawnmowers.

So, he asked me to pick up a 5-quart jug of 30-10 SAE oil, which I went to the Home Depot for. They don’t sell motor oil at Home Depot. Who knew? But on the way home I passed, Consumer Depot. I hadn’t been in there in months and thought I’d take a look around. As I perused the joint, I noticed a beautiful Kitchen-Aid, Stainless Steel, (refurbished) wall-mounted microwave for 99 dollars.

I thought, HMMM, I could get this old one fixed, which was here when I purchased the house six years ago and have no idea how old it is and how much it will cost to get fixed, or I can buy a new one for a mere 100 dollars.

You can probably guess the choice I made. I slapped down the old credit card and walked out of the store with one newly, refurbished microwave to my credit. When I got home, my repairman was already in my driveway, so he and I carried the microwave into the house.

He started taking measurements and began to tell me his story of how many things could go wrong in making the change to this new microwave, as this new one didn’t have any of the wall-mounting gear attached. I told him to be positive.

He doesn’t usually listen to me, but he did this time. He took the old one off the wall with my help. Low and behold, the old mounting mechanism was usable with a slight alteration. However, that did not mean that it didn’t take us trying to mount it 15-20 times and him and I holding the microwave up with a my weak back for 10 minutes at a times. It also didn’t mean that somehow, the linkage that held the bolt in place for the largest of screws wouldn’t fall out and make us have to take the entire microwave apart to find it and carefully put it back in the hole—an extra forty-five minutes.

I was sweating. My repairman had forgotten to wear deodorant, and every muscle in my hands and upper body was quivering after almost three full hours of struggle. Finally we got the dang thing up and mounted and secured, when I realized, I had never even turned the microwave on when I got home to see if it were working properly. My heart just sank. I thought, please, God, please, don’t let this be one of your grand lessons for me.

My repairman had to disconnect the plug and connect the microwave with just the wiring as there was some kind of electric box above in the cabinet that didn’t accept a regular. I sat silently praying. Alas, we turned the power back on and I had a new microwave—3 hours and plenty of joint pain later.

My point… fixing the old vs. getting something new… there is work either way. The delight in the first way would be that you salvaged something that you enjoyed and had for a long time. The delight in the second scenario is that you worked harder for something that is completely new and that you will probably be able to enjoy for many years longer.

Does this scenario and metaphor relate to our current lives with work, relationships, and friendships? I’m not sure. You’ll have to assess each relationship in your life and see what you think.

I have been on a rampage with my own life looking at all the places that I have been leaking energy in friendships, old relationships, people who haven’t been serving my life to the capacity I had hoped. I’m simply checking off the list and getting my life back—my time back—my wasted energy back. I guess I’m tired of relinquishing time trying to fix old things that aren’t trying to be fixed. With something inanimate you don’t have that option in this metaphor. But with relationships, there is an equal and opposite pull that has to be happening, otherwise relationship just isn’t worth the effort.

I recently had an old friend say it was worth going through whatever struggle to salvage the relationship. But when it came right down to it, I was the one doing all the calling. I was the one making the plans. I was the one trying to fulfill the emptiness lost in the friendship. He simply was just onboard.

I can’t do that anymore. I have let go of about 50 pounds of dead weight, and I’m looking forward to letting go of more if it as it comes my way. You should too. We only have one life. We should be living it fully with people who care about us as much as we care about them. PERIOD!

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Bo Sebastian is a Hypnotherapist and Life & Health Coach, available for private sessions to QUIT SMOKING, Lose Weight, New Lap-Band Hypnosis for Weight Loss, CHANGE YOUR MIND, CHANGE YOUR LIFE! at 615-400-2334 or www.bosebastian.com.

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