Not always in the same place, either.
It's been a long time since my remote clickers have worked. They both stopped working at the same time ... so my guess it's not the batteries. It's been annoying to always open and close the door from the wall button ... and not from the car ... but I've adjusted to that over time.
So it's now become a two- person job to close the garage door. One to push the button ... and one to gently tug the door along ... so that it doesn't hang up ... on it's way down.
This morning, I forgot to open the garage door and back the car out before Jessi left. So I was a little worried about what to do about closing the garage door ... when I got ready to go the places I need to go ... later.
Figured I should just go ahead and do it ... early ... and get the frustration over with ... then resign myself to the situation.
Pushed the button ... and the door slowly rose ... about 1/4 way up ... and then it stopped ... stuck ... high enough to crawl under ... but too low to drive under.
That was just swell!
So I stood there pushing the button ... over and over ... as if it was going to magically "fix" itself. That's what you do ... when you don't know what else to do ... isn't it?!?!
Just keep pushing the button.
Finally, I walked over and tried to examine both sides to see WHAT was obstructing the movement. Whatever it is ... it's beyond me. So I grabbed the door in the middle ... and pushed it up ... didn't budge ... pushed it down ... didn't budge.
Seems you have to have someone manning the button ... when you are pushing & pulling ... imagine that.
So now I'm thinking .... this is worse than not being able to close the garage door when I leave ... because now ... I simply can't leave.
Once again, I grabbed the garage door ... and just shook it ... and speaking outloud as if there was anyone to hear me ... I said ...
I CAN'T DO THIS BY MYSELF !!!
I had to smile ... because I imagined myself looking just like Snoopy ... shaking his fist ... shouting ... "Curse you, Red Baron!"
Not much else I could do at that moment, so I headed back in the house to have another cup of coffee. Passing the button, I couldn't resist ... taking a jab at it.
I punched it. And presto, the door glided open!
The sunshine came pouring in ... along with the laughter ... and the whisper, "Of course you can't, MJ!"
I backed the car out ... and I laughed, too. At myself.
Everything in my house needs "fixing". The top on my car is held together by duct tape. There's nothing about my life that isn't "broken" ... right now. The very foundation crumbled beneath my feet earlier this week.
And I started thinking about how long I've been standing here ... pushing the button ... waiting for something to happen ... on it's own ... because I don't really know what else to do ... on my own.
I wish this story ended ... as so many of mine do ... with me saying that now the garage door works just fine ... push the button ... it goes up ... push the button ... it goes down.
But ... it doesn't.
I had to shake ... rattle ... and tug ... at a dozen different stops ... then run over to push the button ... to gain another inch or so of progress ... but eventually, I did get the door shut.
It would have certainly been easier ... if someone else had been here ... to help me out.
So as I face the new year ... here's what I know ...
A whole lot of things need a-fixin .... some things need to be replaced ... and others discarded ... not to mention that it's time for a whole bunch of stuff that's new ...... and I can't do much about any of it ... by myself.
It will be fun & interesting to see who shows up to help ... sure hope they're patient ... and have a sense of humor ... cuz God knows it's going to be an adventure ... helping MJ.
(c) january 2012
