My Wife Fixed Our Toilet Handle with a Paper Clip
My wife fixed our toilet handle with a paper clip. It broke again the next morning, so I lifted the tank lid and pulled the chain. Then I went to the gym. It was fixed again when I returned. There’s something disappointing about a wife that fixes toilets. She loves mowing grass, too.
A man needs a purpose greater than eating, sleeping, and doing his personal business in the bathroom. I redeemed myself in the afternoon. I went to the hardware store and chose a new toilet handle. (There were so many to choose from.)
It was a tough afternoon. I thought about taking a nap. But then I realized she might install the new handle without me. I forced myself to press forward in spite of my fatigue.
The dang bar on the new toilet handle was too long. The instructions said, “Cut it with a hacksaw.” I made the arduous trip to the garage, but the blade was dull. I grew more fatigued. Fortunately, the bar was brass. Brass is brittle. I broke the bar to the proper length and installed it. Then I took a nap.
Leadership lesson from fixing a toilet handle with a paper clip:
- Humility. Do menial jobs.
- Initiative. Don’t wait for others to do menial jobs.
- Creativity. Find a way to fix it.
- Persistence. Fix it again.
- Attention to detail. Keep looking in the toilet tank until you figure out why it won’t flush.
My leadership lesson:
Marry someone who can fix toilets and mow grass.
What lessons can you derive from fixing a toilet with a paper clip?
Need more help:
Toilet Repair 101: How to Fix the 5 Most Common Toilet Problems
How to Leverage the Power of Imagination to Develop Leaders
Love this lesson and how you learn from the everyday challenges… and honor your wife. 🙂
She is awesome.
Disappointing?
HI PER BOLE?
Leaders are suppose to delegate as much as they can. Utilize the strengths of others. When our ego is threatened we grab hold when we should let go.
What can I delegate to my wife today—that’s what I’m thinking!
Go for it.
This can also be considered a “pick your battle” situation. Obviously, it’s not something your wife reminded you to fix, she found her own solution until you decided to fix it. It wasn’t worth her energy to continually remind you. Deciding where to spend our energy is another leadership lesson to add to the list.
Thanks Missy. I think she is filled with pride. She was showing off. But you do have a point.
An uplifting post to end the workweek on, Dan. Toilets are frequently the one component in my house that excel at giving me the most grief. They can never be problem free- even the one that was replaced in our master bath when we had it remodeled several years ago. On that project, my wife was certainly the leader. I had no design skills for the tilework and the representative at the plumbing company, a lady, took over choosing the fixtures (I wanted to re-use a component that worked fine-a showerhead-that I installed years prior. That idea was thrown out with the rest of the construction debris.). My lesson- leave things that I am unskilled at to the experts. This especially holds true with auto repairs, but don’t get me started. That’s a tale for another day.
My lesson from your story is don’t remodel your bathroom.
I’m seeing where your wife decided to spend her energy. It wasn’t on reminding you to fix the toilet; she had a fix and waited for you to fix it. She was able to spend her energy on other things that mattered more than a broken toilet handle or reminding you about it. My take away – choose where I spend my energy.
My lesson is don’t interrupt someone who is getting something done.
I keep focusing on your wife and a saying my mom always said…”Color with the crayons you have”. Your Mrs. saw the problem…found a way to solve the problem…and moved on. She colored with the crayons she had.
Thanks Dave. Love, “Color with the crayons you have.” But I fear you are suggesting my value is less than a crayon.
What I got out of your toilet story is that you are a wonderful husband that works hard to make things work and is humble enough to say that “my wife can fix a toilet and likes to mow the lawn”. With that I also got that she is a wonderful wife that is smart and independent. What a great team you make! Isn’t that what love and compassion is all about? How blessed we are to have ones around us that mean so much!!!
This story would be tragic if my wife wasn’t wonderful. I married my high school sweetheart and I’d do it again. I bet you are an optimist.
I love your wife’s initiative. We all should know how to fix things in our homes. Self-sufficiency is a great attribute.
If I wasn’t so insecure I’d love it too.
Well done Dan, sharing leadership lessons in the small stuff…..thank you.