I wrote these words so long ago that I can’t remember even what happened that caused me to write them, but they continue to prove themselves true. It happened again on Tuesday when our television cable box died during the evening news. Of course it was just at the time I was supposed to start cooking dinner, yet getting it fixed suddenly had to become my priority. Being the only one in the house who can do certain tasks doesn’t mean I want to do them or feel that I am capable of doing them. Often I surprise myself.

When disconnecting and reconnecting cables and turning everything off then on again didn’t work, I realized it was probably time for newer equipment. Thankfully the local cable store is open until 7 pm. I turned to  my husband and let him know that we were going to go ahead with dinner so we didn’t disrupt his schedule. Then I would run to the cable store and see if they would just replace the old box. Dinner dishes and kitchen clean up could wait until he had his TV connection back. It was nice to have a plan of action.

The young man at the cable store assured me that I could do the job. When I questioned my abilities, he simply asked, “Can you read? If you can read the instructions, you can do this.” As it turned out, he was right. It did take a couple of tries and a wrong connection before I found the right combination but we were up and running well before our programs came on that night. And my husband, who had been supervising turned to me and said “good job.” Beyond finding I really could manage this unexpected challenge, I think his gratitude was the best reward of all.