The washer is broken.

As a line, the above sentence could probably be spoken with truth in my house roughly 5% of the time over the past two decades. We’ve never had a washing machine that properly functioned for a stretch longer than six months and it’s come to symbolize “this is why we can’t have nice things”. Our current washing machine has gone through bearings, lost belts, had electrical issues, been eaten at by mice, and now was in need of some six hundred dollars in repairs. Before, we’d have tried to fix it ourselves and learned a bit about washing machine repair but that is no longer our lot. We swallowed hard and paid for a new washing machine befitting my father and mine station in life. The washer arrived in its pristine alabaster condition gleaming brilliantly in the sun of a crisp Autumn weekend that smelt of change. Leaves were turning, we were wearing flannel, and the washing machine in no way fit with the existing dryer.

The bases didn’t match, the sizes were different, the bracing was incompatible and my father and I exhaled deeply as the washing machine was taken back. My father, stared at his hands and said “I’m tired”. 30 years of frustration on being a home owner summed up in two words. I was tired too.

I started hitting Craigslist and my dad started making calls looking for a new set. Over dinner we compared notes and found that we had each found the same set of high efficiency LG units for about the same price in about the same condition. HIs were in New Jersey and mine were in Delaware. I will take this coincidence as Providence. To a bright future of functional laundry equipment.