Part Of Your World

     When people ask me what my husband does for a living I can feel my eyes glaze over and my jaw slacken as the hamster in my head sprints furiously on his (or her) wheel trying to produce an answer to the question.  My husband is a builder, a renovator, a landscaper, a decorator, an electrician, a plumber, a housekeeper, a car detailer, a car stereo installer, a car stereo salesman, a home theater installer, a scrapper, a painter, a roofer, a musician (don't ask), a photographer, a landlord, a mason, an alternative energy system retailer, an alternative energy system installer, the ultimate Mega Man champion (this does not contribute to his earnings, but it sure makes the kids happy), a frequent e bay seller, a mechanic, an ATV builder, a used car dealer, a mover, a disaster cleanup specialist...and anything else you are willing to pay him to do.

     Today Ariel wore his landlord/plumber hat.  He was hard at work in one of his rental units trying to figure out why the hot water was only willing to come out of the faucets in a mere trickle.  He imagined this would be a simple project and was surprised when hours later he was sopping wet and had disassembled and reassembled nearly all of the home's plumbing.  As is often the case when he embarks on such adventures, curiosity got the better of the children of the house and they often stole peeks at him.  The young lad of the house quickly lost interest in him and chose instead to watch You Tube videos of people making stupid noises and strange faces.  This reminded Ariel of his own sons, who can't be bothered to pull themselves away from their screens for, well, anything.  The cutie patootie three year old girl of the house however, stayed interested in the strange person in her home.  She repeatedly asked her Mommy and Daddy who that man was and what was he doing.  Finally she was told that he was fixing their water and that his name was Ariel.  This information quieted the girl down and even made her disappear for a while.  When she reappeared at Ariel's side he smiled down at her and then noticed she was now clutching a doll in her tiny hand, and this doll, of course, had long, vibrant, shiny red hair and fins.  The doll was none other than Disney's Little Mermaid, or Ariel, if you will.  

     I have to wonder if this precious child will be scarred for life by the night a balding, scruffy faced, Carhart clad princess knocked mineral buildup out of the pipes in her home.