Let There Be Light

Today I did a little fix-it project that was long overdue. I fixed the overhead light in Maia and Teensy's room. It's been broken for years. I'm not proud of that, but it's a fact. Someone in my house had a slight temper tantrum and pulled the pull cord right out of the ceiling fan so that there was no longer a way to turn the light off and on. I thought that someone should be the one to fix it. Well, that never happened and who were the losers in this power struggle? My poor girls (although it only really gets dark when they are in their room in the winter). Anyway, today I was feeling like some things in my life were uncontrollable (i.e. Mackenna Rose) and I looked at that stupid light and just couldn't take it anymore so I fixed it. I'm handy like that.

I got out my trusty power screwdriver and took the light fixture off the ceiling fan and took the whole shebang to The Home Depot. In my mind, visits to The Home Depot are just like the commercials. You're met at the door by a smiling apron-clad employee who is a general contractor/master electrician/master carpenter--you know, the whole nine yards--who just happens to want to work at a home improvement store. Then, the jack-of-all-trades sweeps you to the exact location of exactly what you need whilst telling you the three simple steps it will take to get your job done. Well, my visit didn't quite go exactly like that, since I was accompanied by Teensy and said uncontrollable two year-old. I knew where the lighting section was without an escort but then had to hunt down a worker. She/he (Teensy and I are at odds as to which this particular employee was) was as friendly as the ones on the commercials, but certainly not as knowledgeable. While I was busy threatening Kennna she/he looked through the fan light switches and grabbed one for me. Then she/he proceeded to tell me that "whoever took this part off" (holding the piece of the light I'd brought in with me) would know how to put the new part in. When I said, "Oh, I took it apart," she/he looked duly impressed and muttered something about how I sure knew what I was doing. Sure?!? (Side note: the part she/he gave me wasn't right and I ended up running back there to exchange it, sans assistance from an orange aproned friend.)

I did hit one little snafu when I discovered that the wires on the new part weren't compatible with the old light socket, itself, but it wasn't insurmountable. In the end, I changed that light socket, too, as well as the original fan light switch. Then I cut the power to the upstairs, reattached the necessary wires, turned the breaker back on and... voila! There was light! And Michael thinks I waste my time watching all that HGTV. I think this little payoff speaks for itself.

I am rather pleased with myself, in case you couldn't tell. The whole project cost under $6 and took about a half hour (plus four years, but who's counting?). I should have done it ages ago. Maia is tickled to have a light again; she seriously does not remember a time when her room had a light.