I consider myself to be an exceedingly patient consumer. Which I recognize is a statement that requires an ironclad example, so how’s this? I went through a couple of our rainiest months this year without a weatherproof shell because I was waiting for 7Mesh to get exactly the one I wanted to buy back into stock. Another? I’ve been hiking and trail building in my flat pedal shoes because I need a new pair of boots and haven’t found the right ones yet. Heck, I’ve waited plenty of time for custom frames and forks that were exactly what I wanted as well. 

But, as it turns out, there’s a product I’ve been buying for years and years that I’m only just getting to test out this week. It’s day two, and I’m still feeling hopeful, so we’ll see what comes of it. Unfortunately, said product is our homeowners’ insurance. 

We started this week with some extra excitement. I was just finishing up band-aiding Nina’s well-loved commuter bike for another week of use. She and The Clairebarian were prepping dinner. A fairly standard Sunday moment in our little pad when suddenly I heard my name and the words “there’s water coming out of the pot-lights in the kitchen.” 

My brain instantly formulated a brilliantly poetic response, but I managed to keep my mouth firmly closed as “that’s not supposed to happen” flashed across the internal teleprompter. Instead, I ordered my feet to get moving. Luckily we were home and it was all hands on deck with receptacles and towels, we managed to get the water source turned off ASAP as well. I’m already sick of the phrase “it could have been much worse.”

We live tight, my family and I. We don’t make any secret of it and we’re grateful to have the space we do. But, I’m currently typing this from our kitchen table, which is also our shared office, which is in our living space next to our Murphy Bed, and bisects the entrance of our kitchen and the wall against which our piano sits. Yeah, when you factor in bikes, gear, tools,  books, workspace, Claire’s room, and Lego, we do a lot in our 870sq/ft.

At this point, we don’t know how much of a disruption we’re living with for what length of time. I’ve been told that would require “a crystal ball” which is actually much better than the bike industry standard “two weeks” which can mean anything. And heck, we really needed to clean out the pantry anyway. It’s hard to say beyond that as MDF swells without much liquid persuasion. But, I missed my regular Pipeline-to-Lower-Crippler lap with JacAttack this week so the experience is already real (hahaha). 

I’ll be back to our irregular bicycle programming at some point this week but in meantime, here’s a reminder to take an account of those products you’ve been buying, and hopefully not using, for a rainy day (inside or outside).