One dreary winter in North America during some of the most frigid temperatures the Polar Vortex blew our way, we chose to maintain our constantly running toilet as a (likely misguided) attempt at keeping our pipes from freezing. A constantly running toilet = a faucet on drip?! SURE!?
Once we were defrosted and on the more sunny side of the seasons, and in a fit of active procrastination (I most certainly should be studying for boards), I decided it’s high time to fix our toilet.
A few things you should know before this story unfolds. I’m an ENFP. My spouse is an ISTJ. I’ll also have you know I have a background in drafting, was raised by a carpenter, and feel strongly that, for better or worse, I have a knack for “seeing how things ought to go together.” (The latter most clearly asserting my iNtuition preference with a sprinkle of Feeling.)
With this ill-advised and free-form confidence in minor home repairs, I often make claims about the “ease of a project” and can usually be found stating something along the lines of, “should be no big deal.”
I examined the inter-workings of the tank assembly, looked up a YouTube video (honestly only watched about ⅓ of it before determining this was most definitely no big deal), and headed out to Ace Hardware with every intention of fixing our toilet.
If you’ve ever done a project of any magnitude, there is never just one trip to the home improvement store. This project was no exception. Two trips in, I’ve completely replaced every aspect of the inner workings of the tank as well as the water line. Let’s be real, I was feeling great at this point! Unfortunately, though, there was a persistent and pesky leak. From taking it all apart and putting it back together a minimum of 17 times, I was certain it was a big gasket that connects the tank to the bowl that was the problem.
At this point, I had been at it for around 2-ish hours and was definitely ready for a break as I felt myself bordering on hangry. I call Jason into the bathroom to proudly display my progress and expertly proclaim my near certainty of the part necessary to fix the leak complete with prop demonstrations. We decided leaving the house to get dinner was best, plus we can stop on the way home to get the final part to literally seal the deal.
At this point, I sat down and examined the directions. (Yes, for the first time.) In doing so, I note a small area of text that mentions if you have a Gerber toilet, you will have to buy a special oversized Gerber tank-to-bowl gasket. I look and confirm that we, in fact, have a Gerber toilet!! A rush of righteous joy washed over me and I walked out to share this awesome news with Jason. Wide eyed and still holding the directions I start, “I was just reading the directions…”
He cut me off. “You were just now reading the directions?”
We had a good long laugh about it. A situation that so perfectly epitomizes my approach to many of life’s tasks, that demonstrates the reason he and I are a good pair, how we all need balance, and that without a doubt screams my preference for iNtuition.
In what ways do you find yourself living up to your MBTI preference(s)?
