My mom recently told me that she thought I had too much stress in my life and needed to eliminate as much of it as possible for my health and general well-being. While I knew she was right, such a thing is easier said than done.
Sometimes things cause us stress, and we don’t even realize how much they’re hurting us. I’ve been fighting with my washing machine for approximately a year now. The washer was expensive because it was fancy. It was one of those high-end appliances that sensed how much water was needed by the weight of the drum and played a little song to let me know when the load was finished.
I didn’t realize what a huge amount of stress my washing machine was causing me. It took four to six hours to run one load of laundry on Quick Wash and required a great deal of attention to get it done in that time frame. Since I usually don’t get home until 6:00 p.m. or later, I was staying up until nearly midnight during the work week just to run one load of laundry.
The constant fighting with it was demanding my attention every half hour or so to go rearrange the load or turn it off so the pump could rest for 15 or 20 minutes before I restarted it. I couldn’t properly concentrate on my writing or any other project in which I was engaged. As a result, my work hasn’t been nearly as good as my normal standards. I found myself relying on time away from home to accomplish the majority of my work if I hoped to show any finesse.
We replaced the washer last Saturday, and my new one only takes 35 minutes to run a load on Speed Wash. It doesn’t need to stop to rest or have the load rearranged. I pray it doesn’t develop the same problems as the appliance that became my nemesis, but we are golden for now. I hated replacing something on which we spent so much money and was only five years old, but my nerves are already much better as a result.
I caught up on the laundry that had been amassing due to only being able to wash one or two loads per day. I felt a great sense of accomplishment when I reached the bottom of my laundry basket. I won’t know how to act now that I can actually wash and dry my jeans before I need to be in bed.
I have successfully terminated one major source of stress. I already feel better, and I’m sure my work will improve exponentially now that I can concentrate on what I’m writing.
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