At some point in life, sooner or later, some gadget or widget or whatsit will make the heart go pitter-pat. It’s inevitable. Maybe it’s a gizmo for pitting fruit. Or maybe a concoction for sucking spilled oil out of the shop floor. Who knows. It doesn’t have to be high tech. It just has to be new to you and there when you need it most.
And I’ve found my love for the winter and now wonder how in the world I ever survived without it.
I have been well acquainted with the family- sturdy and dependable under pressure. But this one was different and called to me from the shelves. It was tiny compared to those I’d used previously. A little skeptical at first, I pulled it from the bin and, having examined it, it promised me that it would be up to the task I meant to set it. And it was yellow. And it was on sale. Yellow polypropylene, aluminum and on sale! The realization hit that I held the solution to a tremendous winter annoyance in my hand- ice on the faucet threads and cold hardened rubber washers! Nothing less than a diminutive camlock connector that would fit on the end of my farm duty hose!
Do I exaggerate? Maybe. When the horse trough is twenty foot from the closest freeze-proof spigot, it’s double digits below zero, and you’re out in it with the crescent wrench trying to get that connection snug (knowing full well that it’s not going to seat and you are going to get wet) . . . that little yellow marvel is a gift from above. Ice on it? Smack it! No brass threads to dent! No corners to round off and the mittens can stay on when you’re attaching it.
What can I say . . . when it’s safe to haul all the regular duty hoses back out into the sunshine, they’re all getting retrofitted. Because the best thing to do with a little love has to be to share it around.
