Day 11 (January 11): The Financial Crisis at Home

It’s official. I’ve officially entered the “adulting” level where even appliances have the power to ruin my day. This morning, the washing machine decided it had had enough. As I stared at the blinking error code, I couldn't help but wonder if it was sending me a message about my life choices. Maybe it’s telling me to stop putting off that home insurance renewal or—dare I say it—thinking that I could survive without a real emergency fund.

Naturally, I went into “finance mode.” How could I approach this like a true professional? After all, managing a household’s expenses is really just a smaller version of corporate budgeting, right? I started calculating the cost of a repair versus buying a new one, comparing the long-term benefits of each option—keeping in mind that we had no warranty on this machine anymore. Of course, the kids didn’t make things any easier. While I was calculating ROI on washing machine repairs, my son and daughter were in the middle of their daily TV remote negotiations.

"Can I have the remote?" my daughter asks.

"Only if you promise to watch something educational," my son replies.

"Okay, fine!" she says, snatching the remote with the speed of a stockbroker on the floor of Wall Street. I swear, these two could go toe-to-toe with any executive in a corporate boardroom.

Anyway, back to the washing machine. I finally settled on repairing it. The financial decision was easy; the emotional side? Not so much. I realized I just wanted a few moments of peace to think things through. Instead, I spent the next 45 minutes pretending to be an appliance repair expert (which, in hindsight, is a role I should not pursue). Of course, I couldn’t fix it, and the repair guy had to come. But even that moment of “adulting” gave me a little perspective: life is full of the unexpected. Even though I thought I was “prepared,” the real lesson was that we’re never fully in control. But, as a dad, I can at least try to make sure the kids know how to handle their own mini-crises when the time comes.

So here I am, feeling a bit defeated by a washing machine but oddly grateful that I get to fix things in my own way. It may not be as efficient as I’d like, but it’s real, and it’s mine.

And as the day wound down, I reflected: maybe I could use the whole broken appliance situation as a metaphor for the year ahead. Maybe I’m like this washing machine—grinding through challenges, trying to keep everything running smoothly, but sometimes needing a little repair work along the way.

At least I’ve got the tools for that. Just need to find the right manual.