Immediate Gratification Revisited!!

A couple of months ago I wrote a blog post about how immediate gratification is not a reality on the island. And how grateful I was that my kids would grow up without it. But then it impacted my life. And the desire for immediate gratification became HUGE!!!

First our washing machine broke!!! It is only a few months old. There is only one place that is under warranty with the company to fix it. And they are in Puerto Rico. It took 3 weeks for them to get here and check the washer. I repeat 3 WEEKS!!! Due to my chemical sensitivities we cannot use a public Laundromat. So, we have been living with not so clean clothes and towels for over 3 weeks now. And then we find out it could be another week or possibly 3 more weeks til the parts arrive from Miami to Puerto Rico and then to St. Thomas. Now here is where my desire for immediate gratification returns. When we lived on the mainland the washer would have been fixed that first day or the next one. A week would have been pushing it.

(I would like to mention here that our dear friend Tom in Austin tried to help Steven with checking the washer over the phone one evening. And then he even tried to ship us the parts. We have wonderful friends who should really think about moving to the islandJ)

Next our refrigerator conks out. This was on a Tuesday night and by Wednesday we were certain it wasn’t working. Our landlord tried to get someone here to fix it. But they kept forgetting to come by. By Friday evening I decided it needed to be defrosted as the smell was worse than atrocious. After everything was removed Steven was able to take the freezer parts off and check it out. In this case the gratification was immediate if you view this from island time. Four days with no fridge and it was working again by Saturday. That is immediate around here!!!!

Friday afternoon around 2pm the car wouldn’t start. I thought it might be the battery or the anti-theft thing was having an electrical malfunction. I called the dealership and we wouldn’t be able to get in to get it fixed til Monday. And then I was going to have to find a tow truck available as well. The island is not an easy place without a car. Fortunately it was not the anti-theft device but the battery. And here is where immediate gratification really happened. By 7pm that evening the battery was charged and Steven headed to the auto parts store. Where they actually had the right battery and were extremely helpful. Most businesses close by 6pmish. So we were really lucky the auto store was still open. But we got immediate gratification because it was something we could fix ourselves. Otherwise forget it.

This for me was definitely my first experience of having things a bit hard on the island. It is hard in that I struggle with finding the positive in all of these malfunctions. Fortunately though we still have running water and electric. Which both could go at any moment. Knock on wood over and over that it doesn’t. I know this island is not a developing country as it is part of the USA. But many times it is easy to forget. And yes I am aware that on this island I am very privileged to even have our own washing machine, working car, dishwasher and working refrigerator. There are so many who actually do live without these luxuries. But for me I have been brought up with these as part of my life, my whole life. And living without them is a true test of my strength and ability to wear clothes that smell like dirty feet even when semi-cleanJ