Are You About To Blow?

Something was very wrong, very very wrong. There was steam pouring out of the back deck and a shrill whistling sound. Underneath the wooden deck was our ensuites hot water cylinder (HWC). I didn’t know much about plumbing but I knew enough that steam and whistling was not right. I tried the hot tap in the bathroom and it spluttered out extremely boiling brown water!  The plumber came and went after two or so hours. Apparently the thermostat was broken and if the pressure was not allowed to be released, the cylinder would be like a bomb and the whole room would have blown sky high!!!! Now who would block the pressure release outlet? Don’t laugh but this plumber guy has seen the destruction!!

The funny thing is that I was just like our HWC this week. We struggle and struggle with issues or just daily life and instead of releasing the “steam” (in a useful way) – we plug it up. Everyone’s plug is different. A plug is something that brings relief but only for a moment. It doesn’t deal with the underlying problem (the broken thermostat). Here is some ‘plug’ examples:

•     T.V.  -It sure feels good to watch a few mindless dramas.
•     Food and lots of it – Emotional eating has a lot to answer for!
•     Romance Novels -. A bit of escape into a fantasy world.
•     Exercise –yes this can became an addiction to some people!
•     And my plug ……………………………CHOCOLATE!

These plugs are not bad in themselves – a bit of chocolate now and then is supposed to be good for your heart, so they say. But it is when you can’t go through a day or a week without using these plugs to stop the pressure and steam. I know it from experience – the kids may be giving me a hard day and by the time it reaches 2pm my mind is telling me “you really need some chocolate – you deserve it!!”

Yep I used the chocolate plug this week! And it obviously wasn’t enough because I did blow!! What was broken? Basically I was trying to do too much by myself AND also it doesn’t help that I worried about things that I had no control over. A Big Lesson Week, for sure.

Rachel Larkin